


The ties that Bind

by mist_e_rose2014



Category: The 100
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 33,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23018647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mist_e_rose2014/pseuds/mist_e_rose2014
Summary: Bellamy returns to Arkadia after a year in Iraq, needing a place to be alone and readjust to society, Clarke offers him a place to do just that. Will they be able to put the past behind them and find some common ground?
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Octavia Blake/Lincoln, Raven Reyes/Roan
Comments: 17
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

Clarke woke up with a start, her breathing heavy, her chest heaving. Heat pooled down below at the memory of the erotic dream she’d been having. Her head on the other hand was swimming in confusion. She was a single female, with normal single female needs and desires, but the male lead in her heated dream was quite surprising. Especially given that she had not seen this particular guy in a while. Also surprising since the last words spoken between them were in anger. 

“Hey you awake?” Raven appeared in her doorway.

Clarke nodded “just woke up, what’s up?” she asked.

“O called, said Bellamy is coming home and she wants us all there when he gets home” Raven walked to the bed and sat down on the edge.

“Why would she think he would even want me there?” Clarke scoffed. His surprise appearance in her dream was unexpected, going to a party in his honor would be even more so. 

“Dunno” Raven shrugged “but she said he was pretty down about having to come home and she wanted to make sure he got a warm welcome.”

Clarke sighed “fine, I guess I’ll go, but we all know the last person Bellamy Blake wants to see is me” she murmured. 

“Who knows?” Raven drawled “he’s been gone a long time and seen a lot of things since then, you just might be the best person for him to see.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so, but whatever” Clarke shrugged “let me get dressed then we’ll go over there.”

***************Two hours later**********************

The party at Octavia and Bellamy’s house was a quiet affair, just their usual crowd. Octavia and Lincoln hosted, with Jasper, Maya, Monty, Harper, Murphy, Emori, Raven, Roan, Clarke and Bellamy in attendance. Octavia had deliberately kept the guest count low, unsure of Bellamy’s reaction to the party or mood upon arrival. 

The boys had gathered around the big screen TV playing the latest video game, save for Bellamy, Miller and Jackson who sat in the corner of the room deep in conversation. The girls sat around the kitchen table talking and playing Phase 10, with Octavia soundly beating them all. A unanimous groan from across the table drew Clarke’s attention to the fact that Octavia had once again gone out, leaving everybody else with a handful of cards and even more points. In a game, where the winner had the lowest points, the only one winning was Octavia.

“Clarke” Raven nudged her “earth to Clarke” 

“Sorry” Clarke murmured “I wasn’t paying attention” she glanced at the clock.

“No shit” Octavia snorted “you haven’t been paying attention all night, what’s up?” she asked.

Clarke shrugged “nothing, I’m just not in the mood for this” she held her hands up and looked around the room. “I think I’ll just go home” she laid her cards down.

“No Clarke stay” Harper looked at her “what are you going to do at home?” she asked.

“Probably just watch a movie or read a book” she stood up “trust me, you guys will be better off without me” she assured them. “Do you need me to come back and get you?” she looked at Raven.

“No, I’ll have Roan drop me off” she shrugged “call if you need anything?” she looked at her friend.

Clarke nodded in response walking toward the living room and the front door.

“Hey Griffin, where are you going?” Murphy called out to her. 

“Home” she answered “I’m just not feeling it tonight.”

“You’re never feeling it” Jasper retorted.

She shrugged “I’m just not into these things” she murmured.

“You okay Clarke” Jackson looked up from his conversation with Bellamy and Miller. 

She nodded “I’m fine, I just want to go home” she assured him. 

Jackson stared at her, concern evident in his eyes. Clarke had always been somewhat of a loner. The only reason she was ever at their events was because she dragged or somehow coerced into it by Raven or one of the other girls. He supposed that was the case in her appearance tonight. Especially given the intense dislike between her and Bellamy. He searched her eyes for signs that she was lying, but saw none. 

“You’ll call if you need something, right?” he asked. 

“Sure” she nodded. Both of them knew that wasn’t true, but it didn’t stop her from saying it or him from asking. 

“Okay, well have a good night” Jackson replied and “remember call if you need anything.” 

She nodded and walked out the front door, heading for her car. She was putting her seatbelt on and starting the ignition when a knock at her window surprised her. 

Bellamy stood there, his khaki bag hanging from his shoulder. “Hey, can you give me a lift somewhere?” he asked. He and Clarke had always been on different sides of most of the issues they faced, but he too was ready to leave. He appreciated his sister’s efforts to welcome him home, but he mostly wanted to be alone.

“You’re not staying here?” she asked after rolling down the window.

He shook his head “I can’t stay here with my baby sister and her live-in boyfriend, it’s too weird” he admitted. “Please, I’ll play nice” he promised. 

“Sure, why not?” she motioned to the passenger seat of the car. 

“Thanks” Bellamy nodded walking around the car. He tossed his gear into the back seat before sitting next to her. 

“Where to?” Clarke looked at him.

“I booked a room at the Liberty Motel until I find something else” he directed her.

She put her hands on the steering wheel, turning to look at him “the no-tell motel at the edge of town?” she cocked her head “that place isn’t safe.”

“I survived in the Iraqi desert” Bellamy smirked “I think I can survive the Liberty Motel.”

“I think I would take the Iraqi desert over that place” she snorted. “I wouldn’t wish that place on anybody” she shook her head. “Well maybe one person, but he’d feel right at home there, so….” she trailed off.

Bellamy grinned at that, he knew who she was talking about. She was right about him feeling right at home there. “Unless you have a better idea” he looked at her. 

“I don’t know if it’s a better idea, but I have a safer idea” she chewed her lower lip, looking at him. “It comes with a kitchenette, living room, bedroom, and private entrance, fully furnished, you can hide out for days and nobody would know you were there.”

“And where is this?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. 

“I have a finished basement apartment, it’s clean, empty and private. You’d never have to see Raven or I, or anyone else if you didn’t want to” she shrugged. 

Bellamy smirked “you and me in the same house?” he laughed softly “are you sure the house could stand it.?”

She shrugged “Murphy stayed there for a while and the house stood, so I imagine it can stand you staying there. Why don’t you just try it out and if you don’t like it, then I’ll take you to the Liberty Motel tomorrow” she suggested.

“Sure, why not?” he agreed. Everybody, including him, knew the Liberty motel was not a nice place, but it offered him the privacy he sought. Living in Clarke’s house, even her basement opened a lot of questions, but if the space was quiet and clean, he’d definitely be safer there. 

“I mean...yeah if you don’t mind” he shrugged. 

“I sleep on the third floor” she shrugged “surely that is enough space between us, besides O would kill me if I let you sleep at the Liberty” she snorted. 

“In case you or she didn’t notice, I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself” he drawled settling back into the seat while she backed out of the driveway. 

She had in fact noticed. The memories of her erotic dream came crashing down on her. THAT was not happening, not with him living in her basement, not even with him living somewhere else. She may be a normal woman with normal yearnings, but she wasn’t stupid.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry didn't mean to be so long. I couldn't get it to read the way I wanted it to.

It had been nearly a week since Clarke had brought Bellamy to her house. He’d done a great job of keeping to himself. The only reason Clarke knew he was there was because she’d seen his truck parked at the rear of the house. 

“What ya watching?” he emerged from the kitchen, flopping down beside her, taking the remote from her hand.

“Give that back” she reached for the remote, but he batted at her hands, deftly changing the cooking show she’d been watching to a documentary about sunken ships. She scowled at him. “What has gotten into you?” she grunted. The Bellamy that left could barely stand to be in the same house with her, let alone the same room.

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“I mean” Clarke looked at him “I barely got you to stay here versus that crap place down the road, and before that we barely got along” she pointed out. 

“I just needed time to adjust and space” he shrugged “unlike my sister, you gave that to me” he replied, his tone quiet.

“She missed you, wanted to make sure you felt welcome when you came home” Clarke glanced at him. “She worries about you.”

He laughed softly “I’m fine” he shrugged, his eyes belying the words he spoke. Clarke recognized the look and the tone of his words. He could tell by her expression she didn’t believe him. “Look” he sighed “ a lot happened over there” he admitted “and no, I don’t want to talk about it, not now, maybe not ever” he glanced at her “I just needed some company tonight. So if it’s okay with you I’d like to just watch TV and relax.”

Clark met his gaze, she paused for a moment reading the look in his eyes “okay” she nodded “but can we please watch something besides this?” she pleaded.

Bellamy laughed softly, handing her the remote “no chick flicks” he declared before releasing it into her hands.

Clarke grinned “no chick flicks” she agreed taking the remote. 

They flipped through the channels, eventually agreeing upon a competition between several celebrity chefs, falling into a comfortable silence. 

“Darn it, now I’m hungry” Clarke whined. 

Bellamy laughed “Want some dinner?” he asked. 

“You can cook?” she cocked her head.

“Who do you think made dinner for Octavia?” he scoffed.

“I guess I didn’t think about it” she laughed. 

“Come on princess” he stood up, holding out a hand “let the master show you what he can do.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, placing her hand in his allowing him to pull her to her feet. “I don’t think the kitchen is big enough for us and your ego” she sighed. 

“I think it’ll survive” he laughed, leading her to the kitchen.

Clarke watched from the kitchen island as Bellamy peered into her refrigerator. “Yeah, good luck with that” she smirked. Neither she, nor Raven were bad cooks, they just didn’t enjoy cooking enough to actually do it very often. Plus when only feeding one or two people, it was easier and less messy to go out or order in. 

He turned to her and scowled “I’ve seen bachelor’s with better refrigerators” he shook his head before turning his attention back to the fridge. After a few moments, he began extracting butter, two blocks of cheese and milk from the fridge before rooting through the cupboards. He produced some elbow macaroni. “Sit back and watch the master work” he laughed softly reaching into her spice cabinet and pulling out several other jars and bottles. The last thing he grabbed was a bag of chips. He tossed them to Clarke, “crumble these up” he ordered.

“But these are my favorite chips” she whined.

“These are junk food” he shook the bag, indicating for her to take them. “What they will become will make them halfway good” he corrected. Clarke rolled her eyes, but took the bag and opened it, then held the open end while she squeezed the bag until the contents crumbled into little pieces. “That should be good enough” he reached for the bag. 

“I assume you know how to use this?” he handed her a mandolin and two different kinds of block cheese with a big bowl.

“I’m not a complete idiot” she scowled at him “I just don’t feel like cooking all the time.” She took the tool and began shredding cheese, taking little bites at the same time.

“Stop that” Bellamy called without looking over his shoulders.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything” she denied.

“I know you like cheese” he craned his neck to look at her. When she was younger and would come to play with Octavia, the two of them would sit and eat cheese and crackers all the time. At the same time, he continued whatever he was doing at the stove, “and if you eat it all while you’re supposed to be shredding it, we will run out. Besides, think of all the germs you’re adding…”

Clarke muttered something under her breath about giving him a germ, but she did stop eating the cheese. After a few minutes, she got off the barstool and walked over to the stove to see what he was doing. 

“Do you have any flour?” he turned to look at her, not realizing she had walked over to him. When she stumbled slightly, he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. He dropped his hand quickly, turning his attention back to the stove.   
Clarke watched as he poured the flour a little at a time into the butter and milk mixture in the pan, whisking it at a fast pace. He laid the whisk down and poured the macaroni into the boiling water, stirring it slightly. 

“You know making the box stuff is easier” she murmured, watching him.

“Doesn’t taste near as good Griffin” he grunted, handing her the whisk. “Stir the cheese while I keep an eye on the pasta” he instructed. 

Clarke took the whisk and walked around him, stirring the cheesy mixture. “Looks good” she admitted “smells good, too.”

“And it tastes even better” he grinned, continuing to stir the pasta. He stepped to the side, draining the pasta, then returned to the stove. “Ok, time to add the pasta” he came back to the stove and began pouring it into the cheese. As he poured it, Clarke used a spoon to turn the macaroni into the cheese. As he dumped the last of the pasta into the sauce, he took the spatula and finished the job. 

“This” he placed a small bit of macaroni and cheese on the end of the spatula “is so much better than the box stuff” he held the utensil out for her to take a bite.

“Oh my gosh” Clarke closed her eyes “that is sooooo good.” Bellamy watched her with a grin on his face. He’d never really thought of Clarke as being anything more than his little sister’s annoying, rich friend, but looking at her now, he was beginning to think she wasn’t the spoiled princess he’d always thought she was. 

“What are you here?” Raven came around the corner and spotted Bellamy. 

“I live here...sort of” he shrugged. 

“Huh?” she asked, clearly confused “since when?” 

“He’s staying in the basement apartment” Clarke explained to her mystified friend. 

She grinned at them “Wait a minute, the two of you are in the same room and nobody is dead or dying” she arched her eyebrows. “And cooking together??” 

“I was going to make some box mac and cheese” he said he could do it better” she shrugged.

“But there’s no food in our refrigerator” Raven scoffed. 

“Do you guys even eat at home?” he grunted. 

“Not usually, no” Raven admitted “unless you count cereal, tacos and lunchmeat.”

“I don’t” he shook his head. 

“How long have you been here?” Raven asked, still amazed she didn’t know he was there. 

“Almost two weeks” he turned back to the stove and continued to stir the food. “It’s almost done, can you get some dishes?” he looked at Clarke. 

She nodded, looking back at Raven “he was going to stay at the Liberty. I told him I couldn’t let him do that.”

“Good call” Raven smirked “that place is a dump.”

“Are you eating?” Clarke looked at her. 

“Sure, I’ve never had homemade mac and cheese” she reached for the bowl Clarke had in her hands.

Raven held the bowl out while Bellamy filled it with steaming pasta “Oh my God, this is sooo good” she sighed, leaning against the counter. “Sorry Clarke, but he’s right, this is so much better than the stuff in the box.”

Clarke eyed him “she’s easy to win over” she scoffed. 

He cocked his head, holding out a spoonful for her to taste. She opened her mouth and took the offered bite. “That’s not...bad” she grinned cheekily. 

“Whatever” he scoffed, filling a bowl and handing it to her “you know it’s the best you’ve ever tasted.

“That remains to be seen” she declared taking her bowl and walking into the living room to finish watching her TV show, ignoring his laughter. 

He and Raven joined her on the couch a few minutes later. “Why didn’t you tell me he was here?” Raven swiped at her sitting on the outside of the couch, leaving only the seat next to Clarke available for Bellamy. She merely smirked at Clarke who scowled at her. 

“I didn’t tell anybody he was here” Clarke shrugged “figured I’d let him tell people how to find him. 

“Why are you hiding?” Raven turned to him.

“Not exactly” he shrugged “I just needed time to settle back into a different routine.” 

“So, are you home for good?” she asked. 

“I don’t know” his tone was quiet, his face emotionless “that’s one of those things I need to figure out.” 

“Well, I know Octavia is happy to have you back” she looked at him.

He sighed “I know” he nodded quietly. 

Clarke noticed that he was quieter than he had been all night. Clearly, the topic was not one he wanted to discuss. 

“How’s Roan?” Clarke asked “did he get his own place yet?” she looked at Raven, knowing it would instantly change the subject. She grinned and began telling them about Roan’s new apartment. Bellamy shot her a grateful look behind Raven’s back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was uninspired, then I returned to work. Hope you enjoy

It had been a few days since Bellamy once again emerged from his refuge in the basement of Clarke’s house. It was done mostly out of curiosity. Living in the basement, he was often made aware of movement above him, but lately the house had been quiet. 

“hey there stranger” Raven greeted him when his door opened into the kitchen. She was standing next to the stove stirring food in a pot. A tray with an empty plate, some silverware and a bottle of water sat on the island countertop. 

“Hey yourself” he returned her greeting “what are you doing? I didn’t think you and Clarke cooked” he grinned at her.

“Clarke doesn’t cook” Raven corrected “and I’m not around a lot, except when” she bit her lip, wondering if she should say anything. Clarke would probably kill her if she did. 

“except when what?” Bellamy prompted looking at her.

Raven sighed “sometimes when something happens Clarke doesn’t want to talk about, she locks herself in her studio and doesn’t come out for days at a time” she explained “as her best friend, it’s my job to make sure she eats and drinks and takes care of herself” she shrugged. 

“What happened?” Bellamy asked “and when?” Her response explained the silence he’d noticed in the house above him.

“no clue” she shrugged “she came home a few days ago and locked herself in her studio, hasn’t come out since. I just make sure she has food and water.”

“so, she’ll eventually come out then?” Bellamy cocked his head.

“eventually” Raven nodded “but sometimes, I have to call in reinforcement to coerce her out” she looked at him. 

“Reinforcement?” Bellamy grinned “and who or what army is that?” He’d learned that Clarke Griffin could be pretty darn stubborn when it suited her. 

“no army, just one person” Raven replied. Before Bellamy could ask who that was, Murphy walked in the back door.

“you called?” he walked over to Raven, kissing her softly. “Hey Bellamy” he turned to greet his friend. 

“you’re the reinforcement?” Bellamy laughed softly. 

Murphy nodded, laughing in response “unlikely, huh?” 

“Very” Bellamy clearly didn’t believe he was the right man for the job. 

“Watch and learn Blake” Murphy chuckled, reaching around Raven to pluck a piece of meat out of the frying pan. 

“That’s for Clarke” Raven slapped his hand “make yourself a sandwich if you want to eat.

“What is it?” Bellamy asked, smirking as Murphy walked over to the fridge and began pulling out bread and lunchmeat.

“Country fried steak, mashed potatoes’ and a hot roll with butter” Raven answered “it’s her favorite comfort food.”

“So you’re making that” Bellamy nodded at the stove, and she’ll come out of her room and get it?” he asked. That seemed too easy to him.

“oh no” Murphy sat down in the chair next to him opposite the island “it takes more than her favorite meal to motivate her to leave her place of exile” he assured his friend. “This” he pointed at the empty tray “and this” he extracted a bottle of amber colored alcohol out of his jacket “just get me in the door.”

“That and a little smart-assery” Raven snickered. 

“Why you?” Bellamy turned to look at Murphy. Of all of their friends, he was the least likely to motivate Clarke to do anything.

“Because I’m just enough of an asshole to do it” he laughed softly. 

Bellamy looked confused, making Murphy laugh. 

“watch and learn Blake” Murphy chuckled at his friend’s baffled expression “there is an art form to handling Clarke Griffin, especially when she decides to self-isolate.”

Raven reached for the plate filling It with food, then placing it back onto the tray. Bellamy’s stomach rumbled at the delicious looking plate of food. “Don’t worry there’s enough for all of us” she laughed softly at his expression.

Murphy pulled out two shot glasses, placing both them and the alcohol on the tray, then stood up and lifted the tray off the counter. 

“This I have to see” Bellamy murmured. In all the years he’d known Clarke Griffin, he’d never expected John Murphy to be the one who could reach her when she went off the rails. It made sense he supposed, the two of them were more alike than anyone gave them credit for. He loped off his own chair, following his buddy up the stairs.   
“yo griffin” Murphy yelled at the closed door “open the door or I will open it for you.”

There was no response to his crude announcement, but after a few moments, there was a soft click from the lock. The door opened just enough for Murphy to stick his foot in it and slowly push it open. He turned and grinned at the confused look on Bellamy’s face before walking in. He walked into the room, kicking the door closed behind him. Another soft click alerted Bellamy to the fact the door was once again locked.

“They’ll be there for a while” Raven stood at the top of the stairs watching him. 

“Murphy, huh?” he shook his head “who’d have thunk?”

Raven laughed “yeah, I was surprised as you, but he gets to her in a way none of us can” she shrugged. “come on, they’ll come down when she’s ready.” 

Bellamy followed her down the stairs and to the kitchen where she had two plates of food. “are we waiting for them?” he glanced upward. 

She shook her head “nah it could be a while” she picked up her fork and began eating.

“Hey anybody home?” Harper poked her head around the back door, peering in.

“In here” Raven answered.

“Oooh country fried steak” Harper cooed “that explains a lot.”

“help yourself” Raven motioned toward the stove “what’s up?”

“I came to see if Clarke was okay. I got an interesting call today” she cocked her head at them. 

“define interesting” Raven eyed her. 

“Abby Griffin called me” she wants me to come to Polis to help her sell her house…” she trailed off. Harper had recently gotten her realtors license and had successfully sold several houses. Their friends said it was because of her bubbly personality.

“when did she decide this?” Raven asked, depending on the timing that could explain a lot.

“Apparently she told Clarke a few days ago” Harper shrugged. 

“Well” Raven sighed “at least we know why she went into hiding” she murmured. 

“yeah, apparently she is getting married and moving in with her fiancé” Harper explained.

“I figured Clarke wouldn’t take the news lightly, so I thought I’d check on her” Harper looked around. “Is she here?”

Raven nodded “in her studio, been there a few days. Murphy is with her now.” 

Harper sat down at the table next to Bellamy “what are you doing here?” she asked.

“he lives here” Raven snickered.

“Bellamy rolled his eyes “Clarke let me stay in the basement apartment” he explained. 

“I love that place” Harper sighed “it’s such a cool place to live.”

“it is pretty nice” Bellamy agreed.

“So, how is Clarke?” Harper asked.

Raven shrugged “okay, I guess, she came home the other day, shut herself in her studio and hasn’t left.”

“I hate when she does that” Harper sighed “doesn’t she know she can talk to us?”

“It’s a learned behavior” Bellamy answered “a coping mechanism she probably learned when she was a kid.”

“and yet that never stopped you from giving her a hard time” Raven cocked her head at him.

“maybe I learned a thing or two since then” he shrugged. 

“So Abby is selling the house, huh?” Raven turned to Harper “and she called you? Does she know you know Clarke?” 

Harper nodded “I sold one of her friend’s houses, got a good reference” she grinned. “I mean, I’m sorry for Clarke, but..” she stopped smiling.

“Clarke will understand” Raven assured her, hoping she was right.

“yeah it may take a while for Murphy to convince her to come down” Raven watched as Bellamy glanced out into the living room, then back at them. 

“She can be kind of stubborn when she wants to be” Harper agreed laughingly. 

“That much I know” Bellamy agreed. He also knew what it was like to lose a parent. His mom may not have been mom of the year material, but when she died it affected him and Octavia. He was around when Clarke lost her dad, it was not pretty. At least she had the house in Polis to remember him by. Her mom selling the house made sense, it was too big of a house for one person, and Clarke rarely visited. Still, losing the house had to be a little bit like losing her dad all over again.

“What do you think they talk about for this long?” Harper shook her head.

Raven laughed softly. “I think he plies her with alcohol, to get her to relax, and you know Clarke, as tight-lipped as she is that might take some time’ she smirked, “but once she does start talking…”

“Well, you’re half-right” Murphy walked into the kitchen. “The alcohol helps, but sometimes even that is not enough” he sat down beside Raven. 

‘Is she coming out?” she asked, pushing a plate of food toward him.

“eventually” he sighed “whatever mama killjoy did this time worked a number on her.”  
Raven bit her lip, as the others looked down. “okay, what’s up?” he looked between them. 

“She’s selling the house in Polis” Harper answered “asked me to help her.”

“Damn” Murphy shook his head “that makes things clearer” he pushed his plate away “maybe I should go back up…” 

“let me try” Bellamy stood up, much to Harper and Murphy’s surprise.

“yeah, the way the two of you go at it?” Murphy scoffed “that’s not a good idea.”

“worst case scenario she gets so angry she at least talks about it” Bellamy shrugged.

“It’s worth a shot I guess” Murphy agreed “watch it though she polished off that bottle of alcohol, she might be mouthy.”

“I raised mouthy” Bellamy laughed “I got this.”

Bellamy took the stairs two at a time landing at Clarke’s door. He knocked softly on it. When is pushed open he took a step inside, stopping before going further. “Clarke, are you in here?” he looked around. The room had barely any lighting and smelled of paint and sweat. 

“over here” he heard her soft reply. He turned his head to see her in the corner of the room, sitting on a daybed. Her knees were pulled into her chest, her arms wrapped around them. The skin around her eyes were red and puffy as if she’d been crying. “are you the next wave?” she asked.

He smirked, walking over to her and sat down in the opposite corner of the  
bed, mirroring her pose. “I volunteered” he shrugged “figured it couldn’t hurt.”

She shrugged, not saying anything else. 

“Harper is downstairs” he offered “she told us about your mom selling the house.” When she didn’t respond after a few minutes, he continued “she’s kind of worried that you’re mad at her.”

Clarke sighed “I don’t care about the house” she finally spoke a few minutes later “and I’m not mad that Harper is willing to help.”

“we told her that” he murmured. “so, what’s wrong then?” he asked “why the hide and seek?”

She laughed softly at his words “It’s not about the house” she repeated “I don’t even like going there, but when I do, I feel close to him” her voice was just above a whisper. Bellamy couldn’t be sure , but he swore he saw a single teardrop run down her cheek. “When she sells the house…” she trailed off.

“yeah, I know” he agreed softly “that’s why nobody used mom’s room until Octavia got married and wanted to redo it.” He remembered the day he gotten to talk to his sister. Remembered her asking him if it would be okay to clean it out and renovate if for her and Lincoln. “you won’t you know” he looked at her “lose him again or never feel close to him. I know it feels like it, but you won’t.”

“What did you do?” Clarke looked at him. 

“I had O take pictures of the way it was. The way I wanted to remember it, remember her” he shrugged “it wasn’t much, but it was enough. Life goes on after someone you love dies, you have to move with it.” He knew that she knew that. Knew that in some ways she had moved on, but in other ways, she was still holding on.

“I don’t know how” Clarke admitted quietly. 

“One baby step at a time” he suggested. “Is she going to let you take some things?”

She nodded “Her and Marcus are going to be out of town for a few weeks. She has already taken the things she wants and moved into Marcus’ house, the rest are going to be sold with the house.” 

Six months after losing her husband, Abby Griffin had met Dr. Marcus Kane, another doctor in her hospital. She enjoyed his company and made her life a little less lonely, but she had never intended on falling in love with him. Marcus was kind and patient. He gave Clarke her space, rather than trying to step in and be her ‘new dad’. They’d only met him once, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.

“So, are you going to?” Bellamy asked. 

“I want to, but I don’t know if I can” she sighed quietly “I’m not that strong.”

“invite everyone” Bellamy suggested, make a mini-vacation out of it. “there’s enough room and everyone will love the movie room and the indoor pool.” 

Clarke looked at him in shock “how do you know about that?” she looked at him. 

“Octavia told me” he grinned “said I should renovate our house and add those things.”

Clarke grinned “I’m surprised you didn’t do it for her.”

“Me and what army? And with what money?” he grunted.

Clarke shrugged, he had a point she supposed. “get creative.”

“Creative, huh?” he grinned “that’s your department.” He looked around the room. He’d heard she was handy with a paint brush, but had never seen any of her work. 

She shrugged “my dad encouraged creativity” her voice grew low again. 

‘Look” he reached for her hand “why don’t you think about my suggestion” he urged.

“I guess it’s not a terrible idea” she agreed. 

“You know, you could run it by the others downstairs, but that means you have to come out of hiding….” He looked at her.

She sighed “I suppose it’s time” she agreed “but first I need a shower.”

“Yes, you do” he agreed “I mean it is time…” he corrected laughingly.

She removed her hand from his and picked up a pillow, which she promptly threw at him. He easily ducked it, laughing as he did. “It’s a good thing you don’t pitch for the major league” he shook his head. “Take a shower princess” he stood up “and come join the land of the living” he extended a hand to her.

She sighed, accepting his hand “Thanks Bellamy” she smiled once she was on her feet. 

“anytime princess” he looked at her. “It’s nice sometimes to get away from everyone, but remember your friends care about you and want to help you be happy.”

“thanks” she nodded “I’ll try to remember that.”

“Well?” Raven looked at Bellamy when he came back to the kitchen.

“she’s taking a shower, then she’ll be down” he turned to Harper “and she is not mad at you” he assured her.


	4. Chapter 4

Bellamy had heard stories of Clarke’s childhood home, but they paled in comparison to the actual house. He would hardly call the massive, 26 room, multi-bathroom mansion behind the brick wall and iron gates, a house, but he supposed the neighbors with similar houses would. Aside from Harper, only a handful of their friends had actually seen the house. It was not a place Clarke preferred to be, so most of them had never seen it. 

“Holy hell, you grew up here, and then you left?” Murphy gawked between Clarke and the massive structure in front of him. 

“It is a beautiful house” she agreed “but like some people it’s beauty is only skin deep.”

“Who the hell needs beauty when you have your own movie room and indoor pool?” he grunted. 

“I’d rather have grown up in a smaller house that felt like a home, then grown up here” Clarke replied. She had always fought the misconception that because she grew up a fairy tale house, she had a fairy tale existence. 

Bellamy heard the loneliness in her voice and it made his heart hurt. Growing up, he and Octavia never had much, including their mother most of the time, but when she was around, she loved them as best she could. Over the years, he’d heard enough bits and pieces to know that Clarke had lacked that motherly love growing up.

The friends had caravanned to the house in Polis, so the two cars parked in the circle drive seemed small in relation to the house. Clarke looked around at her friends nervously, most of them hadn’t seen this part of her world. The snow white house was spotless with brown shudders and twin pillars. 

“I’ll warn you guys this house is a bit much…” she turned to look at them keys in hand.

“It’s okay” Raven touched her shoulder “we don’t scare that easily.”

Clarke nodded and turned to the door. Using the key, she opened one side of double doors leading into the house. Once inside, they stopped and looked around. Curved staircases on either side led to an upper level. A hall in the middle of the room led to another part of the house, while doors on either side of them led into more rooms. Everything from the walls to the woodwork was white and spotless. The wasn’t even a hint of dust on any surface. 

“wow” Maya was the first to speak. She looked at Clarke “you grew up here with your mom and dad?” she asked. Clarke nodded in answer.

“Did you ever slide down the bannister?” Murphy was the second one to speak, breaking the nervous tension in the air.

“No, but my dad and I used a sled on the stairs once” she grinned “my mom was not amused.”

“was she ever amused” Raven scoffed. 

“The bedrooms are upstairs” Clarke nodded in the direction of the stairs, indicating they should follow her. Most of them were quietly chatting about the décor. Harper pulled out her notebook and was making comments about things she noticed. There was a long hall of doors which Clarke indicated they could choose from. “They’re all the same” she opened one door and walked in. 

This room, and he supposed the others like them, all had king sized beds, crisply made up with white blankets and pillows. There were two dressers and an armoire in each room, as well as a walk-in closet with attached bathroom. 

“We can sleep here?” Jasper asked eyeing the room “it looks like it’s never been used.”

“It only gets used when mom or Marcus have company” Clarke shrugged “and yes, you can use any of these rooms, except the two at the end of the hall, those are mine and Raven’s.” Bellamy wondered what Clarke’s room looked like, but didn’t ask.

“who’s going to clean up when we leave?” Emori asked. 

“The staff will come after we leave and take care of it” Clarke explained that her mom knew she was coming and that she was bringing her friends, so the staff minus the cook had been given a week off to give them some privacy.

“We’ll take this room” Jasper declared dropping his backpack on the bed, looking to Maya for confirmation. She nodded in response.

The others filed out allowing them some privacy. Monty and harper took the next room. Murphy took the one across the hall from them. Octavia and Lincoln claimed the next room. When it was just the three of the left, Clarke, Raven and Bellamy headed toward the end of the hall. There were three rooms left, the door Raven stopped at, the one across from that one and the last door with a hand printed sign on it that Read Clarke’s room- KEEP OUT. Bellamy smirked at that. Of course, Clarke’s room would have the most personality in the place. 

He looked around “where do your parents sleep?” he asked unsure if this door was going to be the door to his home for the week.

“They have an entire wing across the house” Clarke replied, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. 

“They left you on this side of the house by yourself” he tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. 

“my mom wasn’t home much anyway, and my dad didn’t like it, but he figured out a way to keep me close” she smiled softly. “you guys can drop your stuff in your rooms and freshen up if you want” she called loud enough for the others to hear too “Isabella will be ready in about an hour with dinner.” 

They all nodded, ducking into their rooms after her announcement. Bellamy stood for a minute watching Clarke. He wondered if the inside of her room has as much character as the door. He couldn’t help but feel bad for the childhood Clarke must have had here. His mom wasn’t the best, but she didn’t sleep across the house from her kids.

“What?” she asked when she caught him looking at her. 

“It just seems so wrong” he sighed “to have a child sleep a whole half a house away from you.”

“I wasn’t alone” Clarke smiled “Raven spent a lot of time here and Isabella was just downstairs.” 

“But they weren’t your parents” he shook his head sadly.

“no, but if I needed them, they were there” she countered “and my dad got creative when it came to keeping me close to him” she smiled softly. “So, I wasn’t as alone as you think.”  
“Still not right” he muttered.

“Maybe, but it was the world I lived in, it was normal.” The way Clarke said it made his heart hurt, it also explained a lot about the choices she made in her current life.

“I appreciate you concern Bellamy” she smiled at him “but this was normal to me. I didn’t know any other way of life existed.”

He sighed, he supposed she had a point, but he still didn’t like it. 

“you should get settled in” Clarke smiled at him “then after dinner I’ll give everyone a tour.” Bellamy nodded, he supposed she was right. 

He watched as she disappeared into her own room, then turned to enter his. It was exactly like the first room she showed them. The whole house thus far had seemed more like a museum than a house, and it was definitely NOT a home.

“Where is my little Clarke” Bellamy heard a soft voice thirty minutes later. He stepped out to see an older woman walking down the hall excitedly, a big grin on her face. She bypassed all the open doors heading straight for the last one on the left. 

“Bella” Raven grinned walking out of her room. 

“Of course you’re here” the older woman laughed softly enveloping the brunette in a hug. “how are you doing my dear?” 

“I’m good” Raven smiled “just trying to keep her out of trouble” she nodded at Clarke’s door. 

“That’s a full-time job” Bella chortled “I’m glad it your job and not mine anymore” she grinned, releasing Raven.

“I am not THAT bad” Clarke appeared in her doorway, hands on her hips.

“Tsk tell that to someone who didn’t raise you” the woman laughed softly, quickly making her way to Clarke. When she reached her, she pulled her into her arms. “When your mother told me, you would be coming her with your friends” she sighed “I got so excited. I filled the cupboards and fridge with your favorite foods.” 

To his surprise, Clarke leaned into the woman’s embrace. Clarke was prickly at best, even with Raven when it came to being hugged. Yet, here she was allowing this woman to hug her. “Hi Bella, I missed you” Clarke grinned.

“I missed you” the woman countered “you’re so busy avoiding your mother that you forgot your old Bella” she chided.

“I didn’t forget you Bella” Clarke disagreed “this is just not home for me anymore.”

“It won’t be anybody’s home soon” the woman sighed sadly “but I suppose it is time your mother let this place go.”

“I guess” Clarke murmured. She pulled back looking at the woman “Are you going to Marcus’ with mom?” Clarke asked. 

The woman shook her head “I’m going to officially retire and spoil my grandchildren” Bella grinned proudly. 

“They will be some lucky grandchildren” Clarke grinned. 

Bellamy watched the conversation with great interest. Clarke wasn’t what you would call depressive, but she rarely smiled as much as she was around this woman. “Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes in the informal dining room” she informed Clarke before heading back down the hall.

“Informal dining room?” Bellamy cocked his head. 

Clarke laughed “If you think this part of the house is too much, you’d better hang on tight” she grinned “the rest of the house is going to blow your mind.”


	5. Chapter 5

The others had emerged from their rooms looking with great interest at the sight of Clarke willingly hugging and being hugged by another person. She rarely even let them hug her. “What?” she barked impatiently “the woman practically raised me” she shrugged.

“Whatever” Murphy snorted “when do we get the rest of the tour?” he asked.

Clarke laughed, leave it to Murphy to cut to the chase. “Come on” she shook her head at him, gesturing for the others to follow. Harper, note book in hand was right behind her. The relator in her excited for the prospect of seeing the whole house.

They walked down the stairs and entered the room on the right, “this is the sitting room” Clarke informed them. Like everything else the furniture and décor was white. Bellamy was amazed at how clean everything was. There were several chairs and sofas arranged in various patterns with a bar in the corner. The decorations were quite ornate. 

“Was your mother in love with the color white?” Murphy spoke what everyone else was too polite to say.

“She used to say that white represented purity and that’s the way she liked her house to be” she replied.

“which is why she hated Clarke’s room so much” Raven smirked. 

Bellamy wondered what Raven had meant, but knowing Clarke it was probably not white.   
“This is where she would have afternoon teas and things like that” Clarke explained. 

“Bet that was fun” Murphy grunted.

“don’t know, I was never invited” Clarke shrugged “this place was reserved for her doctor friends, no children allowed.”

Bellamy bristled at her words. Her parents living quarters were half a house away, and this room, a room in HER house, was one where Clarke was not allowed in. He would have to remember his manners if he ever met Abby Griffin, after seeing all this.

“that sucks” Maya commented.  
“It doesn’t matter” Clarke shrugged “my dad and I had way better tea parties anyway.

They walked back into the main hall. “the kitchen and informal dining room is over there” Clarke pointed at the opposite door. “you’ll see that when we eat dinner.”

She lead them through the narrow hall and into a living area. The furniture here was dark brown and looked expensive, like suede or leather. A large fireplace was in the middle of the room with floor to ceiling windows on either side. They could see well-manicured lawn in the background and the biggest deck Bellamy had ever seen. What was not in the room was a television. Apparently, this room too was for entertaining people versus spending time with the family. 

On the fireplace mantle was a massive painting of the Griffin family when Clarke was very young. Bellamy laughed at the bored expression on Clarke’s face the artist had managed to capture. “mom was not happy about that look” she followed his gaze “but dad said it made the picture more fun, so he put it up anyway.” Bellamy laughed at that.

“this is the formal dining room” she opened a door off to the right of the room. The room was as big as the entire first floor of Clarke’s house. There was a buffet and small bar area against the wall. A giant glass table that could easily sit twenty people was in the middle of the the room with three white stone balls on either side and in the middle supporting it’s weight. 

“Did you guys even use this?” Jasper asked. 

“This is only used for holiday dinners” she replied “but my dad and I used it for my birthday once when mom was out of town” she grinned. Bellamy closed his eyes and took a deep breath to avoid reacting to her words. He had to stop comparing his own mom to Abby Griffin, but at least his mom was present on he and O’s birthdays. “Bella made sure it was cleaned up before mom got home.”

Clarke walked out of the room, followed by the others She headed towards another set of stairs that lead to another wing of the house. Her parent’s living area, Bellamy supposed. At the top o the stairs was a set of ornate double doors. Clarke opened them to reveal a hallway with doors in the front and on either side. She moved to the left to reveal a neat looking office. “Mom’s office” she announced. The room was very sterile looking, with a mahogany desk, bare of any personal items. Large books bearing medical emblems were on the shelves. Bellamy had only seen Abby Griffin a couple of times and had yet to be officially introduced to her, but this room reminded him of her. 

When they returned to the center door, Clarke opened it revealing a huge room with separate walk-in closets on either side of the room. The massive bed in the middle of the room sat on a cherry wood frame with matching dressers and armoire in the room. A nook in the back of the room had a nice sitting area. “that was my room when I was a baby” she turned them. 

“Where did you sleep after that?” Bellamy couldn’t help but wonder aloud. 

Clarke walked over to the closet on the right “This was my room until I was seven or eight” she walked in the closet. They followed her watching as she lovingly stroked the clothes hanging there. She brought the sleeve of a hoodie to her nose, smelling it as if she were trying to commit his scent to memory. She dropped the sleeve “it was a separate room, but when I moved to the other wing, mom had it redone.”

She moved out of the closet, closing the door behind her and showed them a bathroom the size of the kitchen in Bellamy’s house. It had a walk-in shower with marble floors and a bench with 3D water spouts, a huge Jacuzzi tub.

“I want that tub” Harper sighed, staring at it longingly. 

“It is pretty cool” Clarke agreed grinning at her “but my favorite place in the whole house is out here” she led them back to the hall and turned to her left. “my dad’s office” she smiled softly opening the door and walking in. They watched from the doorway as she walked over to a wooden desk, running her fingers across it lovingly. The desk looked like the same wood as the one in Abby’s office, but it was more worn with little notches and scratches. Unlike the desk in Abby’s office, there was thick layer of dust, as if the room hadn’t been opened in a while. 

“you guys can come in” Clarke looked at her friends, standing in the doorway. Bellamy was instantly drawn to the bookshelves behind the desk. They were clearly first edition classics. For the first time in the whole house tour he was fixated on something besides Clarke. 

“Geez you’re a nerd” Octavia laughed when he moved closer to explore the books.

“I didn’t hear you complaining the whole time you were growing up” he retorted. 

Clarke laughed at their interaction, “take them” she looked at him “nobody else will appreciate them more than you. All but one” she walked over the bookshelf.

“Why?” he couldn’t help himself. He turned and noticed the picture frames on the desk. There was one with Jake Griffin and Abby, a wedding picture he guessed. Another with the two of them holding an infant and a few more of he and Clarke. 

She grinned “you guys remember when I told you my dad got creative when he wanted to keep me close?” she turned to look at them. They all nodded. “Well, he used his architectural degree to do something about it. 

Bellamy watched with great interest as she ran her fingers over a leather-bound book. The Secret Garden was not a book he was familiar with, and he loved the classics. She pulled the top of the book out, but instead of coming out in her hands, it locked in place with a small click when she had it halfway out. 

She waited a few minutes before turning to watch the bookshelf, rather than the puzzled glances on her friend’s faces. After another few moments, they heard a low rumble. Bellamy and Clarke stepped back as the bookshelf began to open. The doors came to a stop revealing a colorful room filled with small furniture, books, toys and even a corner where a small easel sat. 

Abby Griffin may have wanted her daughter to be a successful surgeon, such as herself, but clearly Jake encouraged Clarke to do whatever made her happy.

“Wow” Harper exclaimed, scribbling madly on her pad “this could be a major selling point.’

“That’s awesome” Octavia moved in for a closer look. 

Clarke grinned “I spent a lot of time here” she grinned. 

“I would have never left” she turned to Lincoln “I want a room like this in our house when we have kids” she declared. 

“Whatever you want” he grinned at her. Bellamy rolled his eyes at their exchange.

“Don’t be jealous big brother” she laughed at his reaction, “Some day you can have a room like this too.”

“This is cool and all” Jasper broke up the fanfare over the room “but did someone mention dinner?” 

“Geez” Maya rolled her eyes “always thinking with your stomach” she laughed. 

Clarke turned to Raven “can you take them back?” she asked “I just want to stay here a minute.”

Raven nodded leading their friends out of the room, except Bellamy who stood next to her. Raven smirked at Clarke, who merely shook her head.

“your dad was quite the engineer” he murmured.

“He didn’t like me living across the house” she ran her fingers over the small wicker chair. “This room is what I want to take back to Arkadia” she looked at him. 

“What about your room?” he asked “Raven seemed to think your mom would hate it.”

Clarke laughed “my room is a product of my rebellious teenaged years, there are a few things in there I would take, but not a lot.” She watched his expression “you’re just dying to see it aren’t you?” she smirked.

“Kind of” he admitted “but I don’t want to intrude on your personal space.”

She laughed softly at his words “you, more than anyone else would probably agree with my mom on my room” she grinned.

“Why me?” he asked, hating to think he had anything in common with the woman who threw her child away for a career.

“Because it looks a lot like Octavia’s room did when she was a teenager, just with artistic flair” she grinned. 

“Okay, now I’m really curious” he admitted.

“I might be inclined to show you” she laughed “but first I need food.” 

He laughed “I might hold you to that Griffin” he declared. 

They walked out of the room and back into the office. Clarke pushed the book back onto the shelf and watched the doors close. “I’m going to miss this” she sighed.

“Don’t miss it” Bellamy glanced at her “take the stuff inside, and anything else you want in here” he looked around. “I’ll help you recreate it in your house.”

“Why?” her voice was quiet “would you help me?”

“I raised a little girl once” he reminded her, thinking of his sister “she needed healing too.”

Clarke smiled softly “you don’t have to do that” she looked at him “I learned to heal myself a long time ago.”

“that doesn’t make it right” he reached for her hand. “Clarke, I know I was hard on you, and I judged you, let me make up for that.”

Clarke met his gaze, seeing something in his eyes that she had never seen before. “Why?” she asked again, her voice quieter this time.

“I don’t really know” he admitted, placing a hand on her waist “I just find myself thinking differently these days.” His other hand had moved up her arm and rested on the back of her neck. 

Clarke’s breath caught in her throat as he drew her closer. The air in the room thickened. Bellamy swallowed a breath, drawing her closer still. “Clarke” he whispered, mere inches celebrating their lips. “I..” he tipped her chin back to look into her eyes. “I want to…” 

“Hey you guys better come…oops sorry” Raven smirked at them from the doorway.

“it’s okay” the moment broken, Clarke was the first to recover. She stepped out of his arms, her face a mask of calm that he knew she wasn’t feeling. She’d had a lifetime of experience of slipping in and out of moments. It made his heart hurt to see it.

“Everything okay?” Raven walked with him, following Clarke out of the room. 

He nodded “yeah, we just got caught up in the moment..” he replied.

“what’s going on with you two?” she asked.

“I don’t know” he admitted “but I don’t want to stop.”

“You’re good for her” Raven glanced at him “you should keep trying, but it won’t be easy.”

“That much I know” he laughed softly.

“She’s had a tough life” Raven glanced at her “but she always comes out okay.”

“yeah, but is she happy?” he murmured.

“As happy as the rest of us, I suppose” Raven shrugged. 

“And that’s enough?” Bellamy asked. 

“It has to be” Raven murmured “all we have is each other, we’ll get through this, even her” Raven assured him. 

They would get through it, Bellamy agreed with Raven. She would get through it, he would make sure of it.


	6. Chapter 6

Bellamy waited until the house quieted before leaving his room. He walked quietly across the hall to Clarke’s door, hoping he didn’t wake her. All through dinner, she was quiet, not uncharacteristically so for Clarke, but quieter than usual. He rapped quietly on her door. For a few minutes he wasn’t sure he was asleep, but then he heard movement in the room.   
The door swung open with a soft swish “I figured you would be here sooner or later” she stepped back, allowing him to enter.   
“You were awful quiet at dinner” he glanced at her, standing at the door in her fuzzy pink robe. “I’d have never thought you to be a pink girl,” he murmured, glancing around the room. Her robe wasn’t the only pink thing. The bed was covered in a hot pink, sparkly blanket,with matching pillows. The walls, what he could see of them were still white. Mostly, they were covered in boy band posters and random artwork. “Wow, I bet your mom hated this” he grinned. 

She laughed softly “she did, luckily she was always at work and didn’t have to see it.”

“I’m sorry Clarke” his voice was calm, his tone soft as he looked at her.

“For what?” she looked at him, wondering why he was sorry.

“For judging you” he looked at her. “For giving you a hard time about being rich. I never looked beyond all that to see the real you.” he paused watching her face as he spoke. “I never thought Octavia and I had it better than you,” he admitted, “but seeing this house and hearing you talk about it..” he trailed off.

Clake smiled softly “I fought that kind of scrutiny my whole life” she shrugged. People think because you have money, you have everything, but that’s not true.” She had closed her door and now sat on her queen sized bed. She picked up a picture from her nightstand, staring at it lovingly. From the look on her face, Bellamy didn’t need to see it to know it was one of her father. She put the picture back on the stand “it’s okay Bellamy” she assured him “I wasn’t as always as kind as I could be” she shrugged.

“Maybe” he half-heartedly agreed “but I could’ve been nicer.”

Clarke laughed softly “how about we say we both could’ve been nicer and leave it at that?” she suggested.

Bellamy sat in the chair opposite her bed “so are you okay?” he asked. 

“I’ll be fine” she answered “this house brings back a lot of memories” she admitted.   
“I bet” Bellamy snorted, like how parents let their young daughter live half a house away” he bit his lip before looking at her, hoping he hadn’t made her mad. 

“Been holding that in, huh?” she met his gaze.

“Maybe a little” he agreed “it didn’t bother you?” he asked. 

“No, it was normal to me” she shrugged. “My mom was usually at work, so I would hang out in my secret garden while my dad worked, then we’d have dinner and watch a movie. He always made sure I was asleep before he left, and Bella wasn’t far away.”

Bellamy looked down, shaking his head softly “I still don’t understand how that could work” he declared. 

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but it did..work I mean” she shrugged. “Some people would say the way you and Octavia grew up was wrong” she countered. He supposed she had a point. “My family wasn’t perfect. My mom wasn’t perfect” she admitted “but we were okay, at least until my dad died” her tone became hushed. “He made everything alright…”

Bellamy’s heart broke the way she looked and at her tone. “Then what happened?” he prodded.

“My mom chose her career over her family” Clarke stated so matter of factly that it startled him. “So when my dad died, she and I didn’t know how to be a family.” She watched the emotions on Bellamy’s face “Don’t be mad at my mom. She’s a good doctor and she saves a lot of lives, she just wasn’t a great mother” Clarke shrugged. “After dad was gone, she buried herself in her work and I hid in my room.” While she talked, Clarke had stretched out on her bed. 

Clarke failed to stifle a yawn. “I should let you get some sleep,” Bellamy murmured. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he stood up and started walking toward the door.

“Bellamy” she called his name softly. He turned to look at her. “Will you stay with me? Just for a little while?” she asked.

He nodded, returning to the chair. He moved it closer to the bed, folding her hand into his. “Tell me about your mom” she looked at him. 

“She wasn’t a whole lot better than yours” he grunted. 

“But she was there” Clarke countered “at least sometimes, right?”

“Yeah, she was” he nodded in agreement “sometimes.” He thought for a minute, then launched into a story about his mother. After awhile, he looked over at Clarke, her breathing had evened out telling him that she had fallen asleep. He brushed a stray hair away from her face. She looked so peaceful at this moment. He tried to loosen his grip on her hand, but she tightened it, so he leaned back in the chair and stayed put.

Bellamy was woken from his slumber later by the sound of someone entering the room. He recovered slowly from his sleep fogged state to see Bella pulling the blankets up over Clarke, settling them around her shoulders. She leaned down and kissed her forehead before turning to him. 

She smiled softly at him, as if she knew he was awake, holding a blanket “do you want this here or are you going to return to your room?” she asked.

“Actually, I could use some tea” he replied quietly, sitting up.

She smiled at him “i just might have some downstairs” she laid the blanket in her hand at the end of the bed and turned toward the door, beckoning for him to follow her.

Bellamy followed her into the hall, closing the door behind him. “Do you live here, too?” he asked. 

Bella shook her head “I used to when Clarke lived here” she explained “but now that Ms.Abby is the one one here, I live in a house down the street.” she went on to say that Abby had told her Clarke was coming and bringing her friends, so she jumped at the chance to come to work. 

“So where do you sleep?” he asked. 

“There are staff quarters off the kitchen” she replied. They reached the kitchen where Bella motioned for him to sit at the island.

“So you took care of Clarke?” he watched her prepare the tea. 

“Only when Mr. Jake and Dr. Griffin weren’t home” she responded “and I kept an eye on her at night. Mr. Jake paid me extra to do that and let my children sleep in the extra rooms” she set a steaming cup of tea in front of him. Bellamy noticed that he called Clarke’s dad by his first name, but was more formal with Abby. 

“Thanks” he took a sip from the tea.

“How long have you been seeing Clarke?” she looked at him.

“Oh, we’re not together” he shook his head. “In fact, until recently, we were sworn enemies” he went on to tell her about their feud over the years and how he had come to live in her basement.

“That’s my Clarke” she grinned “stubborn as the day is long, but always willing to help a friend out.”

“I’m learning how badly I misjudged her” he licked his lips. “For years, I just thought she was some spoiled princess who needed a reality check” he admitted. “She never said anything about how miserable and lonely she must have been.”

“She was lonely at times” Bella admitted “but she was never miserable, at least not until her father died. He went out of his way to make sure Clarke was as happy as she could be.”

“And Abby?” he shrugged “what did she do?”

“Dr. Griffin worked hard to give her daughter the life she wanted her to have, she just forgot to give her a mother in the process” the woman smiled sadly. “Dr. Griffin does love Clarke, she just loved her career more” Bella shrugged “and she had Mr. Jake to focus on raising their daughter.”

Bellamy supposed Abby Griffin had done one thing right when it came to Clarke, but that didn’t mean he was ready to give her a pass. “Everybody defends her, even Clarke” he shook his head “I don’t get it”

“Have you ever loved someone who didn’t really deserve it?” Bella looked at him. 

Bellamy immediately thought of his mom. She too was caught up in her own world, often at her children’s expense. When she died, mostly as a result of her own bad choices, she left him responsible for his little sister. “Yeah, I guess I have” he agreed quietly. \

“Then you know where Dr. Griffin stands with Clarke” she glanced at him. She noticed Bellamy’s yawn “you should get some rest” Bella reached for his teacup “I’m sure Clarke has a full day planned for you tomorrow.”

Bellamy nodded tiredly “thanks for tea and the conversation” he stood up “Ill think about what you said.”

“You do that” she smiled and “take care of my Clarke, she can be quite stubborn when she wants” she reached for his hand.

“That much I already know” he laughed softly “but I think she’s coming around.”


	7. Chapter 7

Bellamy fell asleep fairly quickly after the late night tea, but was awake early the next morning. His first instinct was to see Clarke before the others woke up, but he held back. The last thing he wanted to do was rush things with her. A soft tap at his door interrupted his thoughts. He padded to the door and opened it to find Clarke standing there. “Hey” he greeted her quietly.

“Hi” she smiled at him “I half expected you to be asleep in the chair in my room” she laughed.

“I was for a while” he admitted “but your housekeeper came in to check on you and woke me up”

Clarke smiled “Bella always did check on me” she laughed. 

“That’s what she told me while we had tea” he looked at her.

“I’ll bet you got some good stories” she shook her head.

“Not really” he denied “she pretty much talked about how your dad paid her extra to stay with you at night, and let her kids stay.”

“Yeah, that was fun” Clarke smiled softly.

“She defended your mom, like you do” he leaned against the door jam. 

“You defend your mom” she shrugged “and I heard a lot of bad things about her.”

He laughed softly “touche’ princess” he crossed his arms over his chest “so what’s on the agenda for today?” he asked. 

“Breakfast, do some packing, tour the garage, rest, dinner, then late a dive in movie” she grinned. 

“Dive-in movie?” he cocked his head.

“Yeah, a dive-in movie” she laughed “but first I’m hungry, and if I know Bella, she has more breakfast than all of us can eat” she tugged at his sleeve. “Then again, we do have Jasper here” she laughed. 

Bellamy shook his head, allowing her to tug him along with her “good point” he laughed. 

They turned to walk down the hall just in time to see Raven, smirking at them. She shot them a knowing glance, but said nothing as she headed down the stairs with the others.

As Clarke predicted, the informal dining room buffet was filled with pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy, as well as juice, milk and coffee. 

“Wow” Bellamy murmured “that is a lot of food.”

“Jasper hasn’t come done yet” Murphy chortled with laughter, his own plate piled high with food.

“Geez Murphy, hungry?” Clarke entered the room.

“Somebody has to eat your portion Griffin, heaven knows you don’t eat” he retorted.

“She eats my cooking” Bella entered the room behind her. 

“Nobody cooks like you Bella” she greeted the woman with a hug, surprising her friends yet again. 

“Except me” Bellamy boasted.

“Bellamy is a pretty good cook” Octavia agreed “though these biscuits are amazing” she sighed, taking another bite.

“Traitor” he ruffled his sister’s hair taking the seat next to her.

Raven scooted up to Clarke “did you and Bellamy have a good night?” she whispered. 

“He slept in his room and I slept in mine” Clarke looked at her. 

“But he did stay with you for a while, I saw him walk over there” she laughed at the expression on Clarke’s face. “What?” she drawled “the only people to figure out what’s going on with you two, is you two” she shrugged. 

“I don’t know what’s going on” Clarke admitted “I just know that I like being around him” she shrugged.

“There’s nothing wrong with that” Raven assured her “I mean he is kind of hot” she grinned wickedly at him.

Bellamy screwed his face up looking between Clarke and Raven. Clarke just smiled and shook her head. She saw Bellamy laugh quietly before turning his attention back to Octavia.  
“So Griffin” Murphy put his fork down “what’s the plan for today?” he asked. Clarke took her seat opposite Raven, which happened to be right next to Bellamy. Raven shot them a gleeful look. Clarke just shook her head and turned her attention to Murphy. She filled him in on her plans for the day, to which he responded with a grin “ooh a dive in movie sounds like fun” he declared. 

“So when do we get to hit the pool?” Murphy asked, finishing off his plate. 

“Yeah” Jasper agreed “I have heard so much about this pool.”

“You guys can go if you want, I’ll join you later” Clarke pushed her plate away. It didn’t look to Bellamy like she had eaten much, but Bella who always seemed to have a watchful eye on her, didn’t seem to mind. The woman had a mysterious way to influence Clarke’s behavior, without seeming to do so.

“Where is it at?” Jasper asked “we didn’t see it on the grand tour.”

Clarke laughed softly “actually you did, you just don’t realize it” she looked at Raven. “Raven can take you there.” That seemed to be the direction everyone was waiting on, the room cleaned out fairly quickly after that leaving Bellamy and Clarke in the room. 

“Where are you going to go?” he asked.

“There’s something I have to do” she looked down “you should go with them, I’ll be there later.” Bellamy watched her for a moment, unsure what to do. He didn’t want to push her for more than she was ready to give, but he also wanted to make sure she was okay. “I’m going to be okay Bellamy” she touched his arm, “this is probably the last time I’ll see this house before it gets sold. There are things I need..”

“I got it” he nodded “are you sure you want to be alone?” he asked.

“I won’t be” her tone was so soft he barely heard her.

“Okay, but if you don’t want to be alone” he looked into her eyes.

“I’ll be fine” she assured him. “I appreciate the offer, but I need to do this.” 

“Okay” he nodded in agreement, he understood the need to be alone sometimes. Bellamy watched her go, then turned to look at Bella.

“She’ll be fine” Bella assured Bellamy “If I know Clarke, she’s going to spend some time with her father” she smiled at him softly.

Bellamy stood for a moment, then moved toward the door with purpose. “I’m going after her” he declared. 

Bella smiled at him “I thought you might say that” she laughed, walking over to him. “I’m glad she has you when she goes back home” she patted his arm.

“She isn’t like this in Arkadia” Bellamy told her. 

“Of course she isn’t” Bella agreed “Arkadia doesn’t have the memories attached to it that this place does. Go to her, but her some space, she’s likely to be a bit prickly.”

Bellamy laughed “I can prickly.”

“I imagine you can” Bella chuckled “now, I should get this place cleaned up before lunch.”

Bellamy turned to look at the table full of empty plates and cups, “I’m sorry, I promise we don’t live like this at home”

“Oh pish” the housekeeper swiped at him “I will take this kind of mess any day or the little dust that collects around here usually.” 

“Okay, well you have fun then” Bellamy grinned, leaving the room.

After leaving the dining room, Bellamy returned to his room to change clothes before following Clarke. He figured he would give Clarke some time and space to do what she needed to do. After ten minutes, he left his room and headed toward the residential wing of the house. He paused at the double doors to her parent’s suite, unsure if he should even be here. He took a deep breath, then pushed open the doors. He started to walk in when he heard voices and stopped.

“You always loved that old sweatshirt” he didn’t recognize the voice, but it wasn’t Clarke. Another woman, most likely Abby Griffin was talking. Bellamy stood outside the bedroom door listening to them. 

“Mom” Clarke sounded surprised “I thought you and Marcus were out of town.”

“The joys of dating a doctor” he heard a grin in Abby’s reply “your father knew it well.”

“I remember” Clarke murmured. 

“Do you want us to go home?” Clarke asked “I mean since you’re here?” she asked. 

“This IS your home Clarke” Bellamy heard sadness in her reply.   
“It was” Clarke’s tone was quiet “but it doesn’t feel like it anymore.”

“I know that feeling” again a note of sadness in Abby’s tone. “And no, you and your friends are welcome to stay. I just came to get some things to take to Marcus’.”

“How is Marcus?” he heard Clarke ask.

“He’s good. He said to say hello to you” for the first time, Bellamy heard happiness in Abby’s tone “and to tell you that you should come home more often.”

To his amazement, he heard Clarke laugh “probably” she agreed. “‘I’m going to miss this place,” she sighed. 

“Oh honey, your dad is with you wherever you go” Abby’s voice was soft. This was not what Bellamy expected from the woman he’d heard so many bad things about. “I want to show you something” he heard their voices fade and moved closer, bumping against the wall. He stilled and cringed, hoping she hadn’t heard that.

“You might as well come in Bellamy” he heard laughter in Clarke’s voice. 

“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop” he declared guiltily, walking into the room. “How did you know it was me?” he asked.

“Because everyone else leaves me alone when I tell them to” she shook her head “but not you.”

“What can I say, I don’t listen well” he shrugged, standing next to her.

“You don’t say” Clarke laughed, turning her attention to her mom. “Mom, this is Bellamy. Bellamy this is my mom, Abby Griffin.”

“Dr. Griffin” he nodded at her. Clarke was wearing a too big on her hoodie that read Arkadia University. 

“Please, call me Abby” she extended her hand “it’s nice to meet you Bellamy.” 

“Nice to meet you” he replied “I’ve heard a lot of things about you.”

“Not many of them good, I’m guessing,” she smiled softly.

“Not really, no” he agreed “but I’ve learned not to believe everything I hear” he shrugged.

“Well that’s very generous of you” she smiled at him, then turned her attention back to Clarke. “I want to show you something” she beckoned her to follow. Bellamy stood in place, until Clarke indicated for him to come with them. 

“I have something else for you to take with you” Abby led them into the walk-in closet that used to be Clarke’s room. 

She moved to the back of the closet and began moving clothes to the side of the bar they hung from. After a few minutes, she pulled out what looked like a fairy tale land mounted into a large frame. By Clarke’s smile, he assumed she knew what this was. 

They must have realized his confusion, because Clarke turned to him. “This was the mural on my wall when I was a little girl” she explained.

“So you WERE a princess” he smirked, earning a smack on the arm.

“Yes, she was” Abby laughed softly. Clarke just shook her head. “When we renovated the room and turned into a closet, your dad had this cut out and framed. He said someday you were going to have a daughter and she should have it.”

The picture looked heavy to Bellamy, so he grabbed it and sat it on a bench in the closet. Abby smiled gratefully at him. “This can go in your secret garden” he looked at Clarke.

Clarke lovingly stroked the picture “I didn’t know he had this” she smiled softly. 

“I forgot about it too until I was going through your dad’s closet a while ago” Abby admitted. 

“Thanks mom” Clarke smiled at her “I’ll keep it in a safe place.”

“I know you will honey” Abby smiled sadly at her daughter. “I know I made some bad choices when you were younger, but I really do hope you’ll visit Marcus and I sometime.”

“I’ll try” Clarke replied, surprised that she actually meant it. She had accepted who her mother was years ago, it didn’t bother her like it used to. 

Abby’s phone rang in the other room. She excused herself to answer it. “You couldn’t resist could you” she shook her head, glancing at Bellamy. 

He shrugged “I never did listen well” he smirked. “Your mom doesn’t seem so bad” he glanced in the other room. 

Clarke shrugged “She wasn’t great at being a mother, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love me.”   
Abby walked back into the closet “that was Marcus, he’s out of surgery and wants to meet for lunch” she gazed at her daughter. “I can call him back if you want me to…”

“It’s okay mom, go have lunch with Marcus. Tell him I said Hi” she stopped her mom from dialing her phone. “We can have dinner before I go back to Arkadia.”

“Why don’t you come to dinner tonight?” Bellamy offered “bring Marcus, we’re all dying to meet him.”

Clarke cocked her head at Bellamy, surprised at his invitation “yeah, sure come and bring Marcus, but I should warn you, my friends can be…” she trailed off.

“I was young once” Abby put her hands on her hips. Her daughter may have only known her as an uptight doctor, but there was more to her than that “I can handle rowdy friends.”

“Be careful what you ask for” Bellamy smirked, thinking of Jasper, Monty and Murphy specifically. 

Abby laughed at his remark “I consider myself warned” she murmured. “Bella tells me you’re doing a dive-in Movie tonight, so we’ll come early” she assured them. “I promise not to embarrass you” she grinned at her daughter. 

“Oddly enough, I was more concerned with my friends embarrassing me” she snickered.

“A valid concern” Bellamy laughed beside her “at least for some of them.”

“Okay honey” Abby reached for Clarke’s hand “I love you, I hope you know that” she kissed her cheek.

“Love you too mom” Clarke’s tone was soft. 

After Abby left, Bellamy watched Clarke quietly. “Is it okay that I invited your mom to dinner?” he asked, concerned that he had overstepped. 

“It’s fine” Clarke shook her head “it might get interesting, but it’s fine.”

“I’ll take this to your room” Bellamy picked up the picture “then you can show me this pool that you claim we’ve already seen” he cocked his head at her. 

“I promise you, you have” she grinned, following him out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

“It’s about time you two joined us” Jasper yelled as Clarke and Bellamy finally joined their friends at the pool. 

“Did you two have fun?” Raven walked over, speaking so low only they could hear her. She smirked at them as she continued on to the pool.

“Are you two not swimming?” Murphy noted their lack of swimwear “or are you skinny dipping?” he laughed at his own, terrible pun.

“Dude you missed it” Monty, a budding engineer, popped out of the water and sat on the deck of the pool. 

“Missed what?” Bellamy asked.

“The very cool way Clarke’s dad disguised the pool” he gushed. 

Bellamy looked at Clarke who shrugged “well, he was an engineer” she pointed out.

“Wait a minute” Bellamy thought back to yesterday when she gave them all a tour of her house. “This was a deck yesterday” he cocked his head to look at her. 

“Still is man” Monty continued to gush. Clarke smiled at his enthusiasm, “he, of all of them, would be the one she would have loved the clever way her dad hid their in-ground pool. It was also housed inside of thick glass so that it could be used in the winter as well as the summer. In the summer, the panels opened to let the warm breeze and abundant summer sun in. She was fairly certain that feature would blow Monty’s mind. 

“If you like that, you’re going to love this” Clarke grinned at Monty and walked over the panel on the side of the house. She pushed a few buttons and the glass rolled back into itself. 

“Oh my goodness” Monty smiled broadly “It must have been so cool to have a dad like yours” he gushed, clearly awed by what she showed him. Harper, on the other hand, was busy making mental notes about the cool features of this amazing house. 

“So, are you guys getting in or not?” Octavia looked at them. 

“Maybe later” Clarke shrugged “I just want to sit for now.”

Raven looked at Clarke, then Bellamy, mouthing the words what’s going on to him. He shook his head to indicate that he would tell her later.   
Maya noticed the hoodie Clarke was wearing “who went to Arkadia U?” she asked. Maya was a senior at the university in Arkadia. She’d gotten a late start to her studies, but had caught up quick and would soon join Jasper and Monty in their software engineering firm as a programmer. 

Clarke looked down at the hoodie, she’d forgotten she still had it on “my dad” she smiled,”it’s where he got his engineering degree.”

“Your dad lived in Arkadia?” Jasper asked. “I thought he was from money like your mom?”

“He was” Clarke confirmed, “But he lived with his grandparents in Arkadia because his parents traveled a lot.”

“So, where did you guys go?” Raven asked.

“I went to see if there was anything in my dad’s closet that I wanted to keep” Clarke replied.

“Guess you found something,” Maya noted. 

Clarke touched the hoodie “yeah, I did” she agreed. “And I got another surprise,” she murmured.

“Actually two, if you count your mom” Bellamy added.

“Your mom is home?” Raven reacted first, “does that mean we have to leave?”

“Yes, she’s home, but she is staying with Marcus, so no, we don’t have to leave, but” she chewed her lower lip “they are coming to dinner tonight.”

“With us?” Murphy looked surprised, “why?” 

Clarke shrugged “She just wanted to see me before I leave, so Bellamy invited her and Marcus to dinner.”

“Way to kill the party Blake” Murphy scoffed.

“She’ll be fine” Clarke assured them “just don’t be too much like your usual obnoxious selves” she laughed.

“Challenge accepted Griffin” Murphy chortled.

Clarke settled into a chair next to Bellamy watching their friends splash in the pool. The two of them were teased endlessly for not joining in the fun, but they pretty much ignored them.   
A couple of hours later, Bella brought several pizzas out to them. “These showed up on the doorstep, I figured your mother ordered them” she put the boxes on a nearby table. “Here are some napkins” she added. 

After she left the pool emptied out pretty quickly, but Clarke and Bellamy were the first ones to the pizza since they were already out of the pool and dry. 

“Well played” Murphy nodded at them “well played.”

Clarke just laughed and took her chair back. 

“So, Is this the plan for the rest of the day?” Murphy asked, looking very relaxed.

“I only have a couple more things to take care of, so that works for me” she closed her eyes and leaned back. Bellamy heard her breathing even out and opened the umbrella on the lounger. 

“You’re so far gone it’s not even funny” Raven smirked at him from her sitting position on the grass. Murphy was laying on a towel, his head resting on her thigh. He too had fallen asleep.

“And you aren’t?” he retorted. 

“Yeah, but unlike you, I’m willing to admit it” she returned saucily, running her fingers through Murphy’s hair.

“I’m willing to admit something is going on” Bellamy looked at her, “I just don’t know what, and I don’t know how far to push her.”

“She’s stronger than she appears,” Raven assured him.

“I’m learning that” he smiled “but I still don’t want to push too hard.”

“That’s probably smart” Raven nodded “but if you don’t give her a little shove, she’ll never budge. She learned very young how to fly below anybody’s radar,”

“She must’ve been lonely, though” he sighed. “I mean even with all this” he looked around “she was alone a lot.”

“Her dad was pretty good about making sure she didn’t hibernate, but when he died, she didn’t come out of her room for weeks.”

Bellamy looked over at Clarke, she seemed so peaceful when she slept. Here, in this house, she was more intense than she was at home. Maybe Abby’s decision to sell the house would give them both some peace. 

Raven shook her head at him, laughing softly “she’s not going to make the first move” she warned him.

“I know” he nodded “I know what to do and when to do it.” 

“Come on in Reyes” jasper splashed water at her, accidently getting some on Clarke, who woke up with a start.

“Sorry” she smiled sleepily at them “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Murphy, who had also been splashed awake, sat up “really Jasper?” he stared at the dark-haired boy. He jumped to his feet and tackled the other boy into the water, splashing the other three as he did. 

“Dammit Murphy” Clarke sat up “I told you I didn’t want to…” 

Before she could finish, Murphy emerged from the pool standing over her, soaking wet “didn’t want to what Griffin?” he asked arms crossed over his chest, grinning dangerously at her. “Have a little fun?” he leaned down and picked her up into his arms. He settled her into his arms and walked toward the glistening pool.

“Murphy” she squealed, “what are you doing?” she ineffectively kicked her feet “put me down” she demanded.

“Nope” he grinned, walking toward the deep end of the pool. “Time for you to loosen up princess” he laughed softly. With an evil laugh, he loosened his grip on Clarke and dropped her into the pool.

She came up coughing and sputtering “I’m going to kill you John Murphy” she glared at him, swimming toward the ladder.

“Come on with it Griffin” he grinned, standing at the top of the ladder. He extended his hand to help her up. She grabbed it and pulled him into the water. 

He resurfaced and began laughing “well played Griffin, well played” he grinned. 

Bellamy stood at the top of the ladder, hand held out “some help you were” she grumbled as he caught her hand and pulled her to the pool deck. 

“Sorry, he was too fast for me” he grinned, wrapping a towel around her. 

“Thanks” she smiled at him.”I need to go change” she shook her head at Murphy “you suck.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah” Murphy laughed at her “you know you had fun.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, but couldn’t suppress a grin. “Maybe a little,” she agreed.

Bellamy held back while Clarke headed into the house to change, looking between their friends at the pool and the door Clarke disappeared through.

“Go on” Murphy snickered at him “you know you’re dying to follow her.” The others nodded in agreement.

“Who would’ve thought my big brother and Clarke would ever be in a place where they actually liked each other” Octavia grinned at him, looking into the sky. “Anyone seeing any flying pigs?” she asked. Once again the group exploded in laughter.

“I think there’s a little more than like there” Lincoln commented, wrapping an arm around her.”

“Oh yeah” Raven agreed, grinning at Bellamy.

Bellamy just shook his head “you guys are impossible” he declared.

“And yet you I don’t hear you denying anything” Murphy had pulled himself to the side of the pool next to Raven” grinning at his friend. 

“And on that note” Bellamy laughed softly “I’m going to make sure..”

“Clarke is okay” they all finished his sentence, followed by another burst of raucous laughter.

Muttering something about friends like them, Bellamy disappeared into the house, followed by a chorus of catcalls and smart remarks from his friends.

He took the stairs two at a time to get to the guest wing of the house. When he made it to Clarke’s room he heard her muttering thoughts about killing Murphy. He knocked on the door.  
Clarke answered the door wearing a pink, fuzzy robe. “Hey” she greeted. 

“Hey” he looked at her “are you okay?” he asked. “You seem a little angry.”

“I’m not angry” she shrugged “I’m just tired” she sighed. “I can’t wait to get home” she admitted, running a brush through her hair.

Bellamy walked over to her. Taking the brush from her hands, he nudged her into a chair in front of the desk. “What are you doing?” she looked at him confused.

“Sit, relax” he instructed, pulling the brush through her hair in slow, fluid motions. He watched her in the mirror, eyes closed. “What did your dad do when you were like this?” he asked, knowing there must’ve been something. 

Clarke laughed softly “you, and the others would be so surprised” she met his gaze in the mirror. “Especially you” she looked at him.

“There have been non-stop surprises with you since we’ve been here” he murmured. 

“This would be a BIG surprise” she told him “something very unprincess like…”

“This I have to see” he stopped brushing her hair for a second, but continued after a few minutes.

“You’re pretty good at this” she smiled at him through the mirror.

“Well, I did raise a little girl” he shrugged “even if she was an ungrateful little brat at times” he laughed softly. “She used to love having her hair brushed, it calmed her down so much.”

“Tell me about your mom” Clarke turned to look at him “Please, all we talk about is me. I’m tired of talking about me.”

“What do you want to know?” he asked pulling another chair over to where she sat.

“I don’t know, whatever you want to tell me” she shrugged.

“My mom was…” he paused “unique” he laughed. “She loved us, and we knew it, but she loved herself more.” His tone was so even that it surprised her. 

“That didn’t bother you?” she asked him. “I mean you had to give up your childhood to raise your sister.”

“My mom tried her best to raise us, but she had a lot of childhood trauma. She survived it” he assured her “but she dealt with it by drinking it away.” He assured Clarke that his mom was never violent or physically harmed her children, “she just wasn’t there” he finished. 

“And that didn’t make you mad?” she asked.

“Sure it did” he admitted “but being mad at mom wasn’t going to keep the lights on or provide three meals a day” he pointed out. “So, I just stepped up and did what needed to be done.”  
“So you basically raised a princess, too” Clarke smirked.

He laughed at her comment “yeah, I guess I did” he agreed. 

“And yet I drive you nuts?” she leveled her gaze at him.

“You drive me nuts for a whole nother reason” his eyes met hers “until recently, I just never questioned it” he traced slow circles in her hand. 

“Like?” she prodded.

“When I’m around you, I’m torn between wanting to kill you or kiss you” he admitted, his voice husky “it’s a little scary.”

His confession surprised her. Like her he tended to keep things in and often stayed away from others. “Why?” was the only response she could think to ask. Between the way he was touching her, and the things he was saying she was having a hard time making words.

He laughed, moving closer to her. He placed one hand on her hip, drawing her closer to him “I have no idea” he admitted “it surprised me too.” He cupped his free hand around the back of her neck, threading his fingers through her hair. His thumb moving softly across her jawline. 

Clarke’s breath hitched in her throat when he traced her lips “I don’t know why” his tone was low. “I just know that more than anything in the world, I want to kiss you” he pulled her even closer as he talked. Mere inches separated them.

“Bellamy” Clarke 's voice was low, so low he almost didn’t hear it.

He used his thumb to tip her head back, moving his mouth closer. Clarke could feel his heated breath in her ear. She moaned softly “I need to kiss you” he whispered in a frenzied tone “Please Clarke, let me kiss you” he pleaded.

She gave an almost imperceptible nod, but it was one he did not miss. He kissed along her jawline, moving slowly towards her lips. 

“Bellamy, please” she whimpered as he nuzzled her neck.

He laughed softly, his voice vibrating against skin “please what princess?” he looked into her eyes.

She grabbed a handful of his shirt “kiss me” she demanded urgently.

“I thought you’d never ask” he closed his lips over hers in a searing kiss that stole both their abilities to breathe. Bellamy lowered his other hand to her waist and hauled her into his lap, needing her to be closer. 

“Clarke” they heard Raven calling down the hall, breaking the moment. “Whoops, sorry” she murmured, “I’ll just tell your mom you’ll be right down” she couldn’t help but grin at them. 

Clarke laid her head on Bellamy’s shoulder, laughing softly. “She has terrible timing” Bellamy murmured. 

“Better her than my mom” she pointed out, she drew back, still sitting in his lap.

“True, but I think your mom likes me” he grinned. 

“I guess we’ll find out soon” Clarke laughed standing up.

“I guess we will” he agreed standing beside her “and we’ll discuss this later” he declared pulling her into his arms, placing a soft kiss on her lips, before tugging her towards the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

“Wait a minute” Murphy held his hand up, laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes “Little Miss Perfect over there” he pointed at Clarke “did that?” he asked.

“Hey, it wasn’t all me” Clarke protested “dad was in on it too” she pointed out. Abby had just finished telling them about the time Clarke and Jake took their ATVs out into the field and went mudding. 

Abby rolled her eyes “okay that is true” she agreed “but he went along with every little idea you ever had” she shook her head. “And poor Isabella had to clean up after them.”

“Dad paid her extra” Clarke shrugged “not that she wanted to take it.”

“Yes, you always walked on water with both of them” Abby shook her head. 

Clarke shrugged “I can’t help that I was adorable” she grinned. 

“Still are” Bellamy leaned in so only she could hear him. She smiled, turning a slight shade of pink. The gesture did not go unnoticed by Abby, who looked with interest at them. 

“So, where are these ATVs?” Murphy asked. “Clarke skipped over those in the little house tour she gave us.”

“They’re around” Clarke murmured “I was going to show them to you guys tomorrow”she told them.

“They’re pretty fun” Marcus agreed. He’d been mostly quiet during dinner. 

“How would you know?” Abby turned to him, surprised at his remark.

“Clarke and I may have been out on them once or twice” he grinned. 

“Oh really?” Abby feigned anger “and when was this?” she asked. 

“Last summer” Clarke replied “I came here to get away. Marcus came over here to get something for you.”

“But before I left, we took the ATVs out” he finished. “She smoked me by the way” he laughed. 

“She’s had a little more practice at it than you” Abby ran her hands up his arm. “Jake’s been taking her out on the damn things since she was tall enough to reach the pedals” Abby shook her head.

“Don’t worry Marcus, I smoked him too” she grinned cheekily. Bellamy had heard a few things about Marcus, not necessarily anything bad, but not necessarily good, either. He was surprised when Clarke allowed Marcus to hug her when he and Abby first arrived. 

To everyone’s surprise, Abby and Marcus had brought several pizzas with them for dinner. They also brought drinks and a salad for Abby, who declared Pizza was not in her diet. 

“More for me” Murphy replied laughingly.

“You must be Murphy” Abby grinned at him “I’ve been warned about you.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear” he retorted cheekily “especially if it came from those two” he pointed at Clarke and Bellamy.

“I’ll do my best to withhold judgement,” Abby laughed. 

As they all settled in the formal dining room off the living area and began to eat, Clarke introduced everyone. Abby nodded at each person as Clarke introduced them, placing a face with the names, some of which she’d heard things about. 

After all the pizza and salad had been eaten, they sat around the table talking. Abby was learning things about her daughter she never really knew. At the same time she was telling Clarke’s friends a few secrets of her own.   
“So Clarke was a little hellion, huh?” Murphy was still laughing over the ATV story when she launched into another story about another of Jake and Clarke’s adventures, this one involving a two sleds and the stairs leading from the guest wing to the front door.

“Who won?” Jasper asked after he finished laughing.

“Me of course” Clarke grinned “I was lighter and therefore faster.”

“Also, more fragile, as I recall” Abby drawled “she sported a hot pink cast on her arm for six weeks after that.” She went on to tell them that Jake had told her Clarke was doing handstands and fell on her arm, but Isabella told her something different. 

“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” Abby looked around. 

“Somebody promised us a dive-in movie” Monty looked at Clarke.

“Yeah, maybe she’ll actually get in the pool this time...of her own accord” Murphy guffawed.

“If I do, you’d better watch your back” she laughed softly “I still owe you for today.”

“What happened today?” Abby looked confused.

“I threw her into the pool” Murphy bragged.

“Fully clothed” Clarke clarified, throwing a napkin at him.

“I’d have loved to see that” Abby laughed.

“Of course, you would” Clarke shook her head.

“It was kind of funny,” Bellamy admitted, immediately holding up a hand to protect himself from Clarke’s retribution.

“Oh really?” she turned to him. “How would you like it?” she cocked her head at him. 

“Bring it on princess” he snickered

“Careful, those are fighting words” Raven laughed at the look on Clarke’s face. 

“I think you might be in trouble,” Abby murmured, watching him squirm. 

”’I’d sleep with one eye open if I were you” Clarke eyed him, her voice a deadly calm tone.

“I’ll keep that in mind” he smirked. He wasn’t too worried about her getting revenge since he planned on sleeping with her tonight.

“Well, we’ll let you guys get to your movie” she stood up “Thanks for letting us crash dinner” the last remark was to the group, but her glance was to Clarke. 

“Thanks for coming, we learned a lot about Clarke” Murphy snickered. 

“Careful Murphy, I know a few of your secrets too” she reminded him, standing up “I’ll walk you out” she began to follow Abby and Marcus out of the room. The others followed and headed to their rooms to change back into their swimwear. 

Bellamy stood at the top of the stairs watching them. He wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying. Abby and Marcus stood at the door together, with Clarke standing in front of them, her back to him. Abby reached out and touched her daughter’s arm, a sad smile on her face. He wasn’t surprised when all eyes turned on him a few minutes later. He got the impression that Abby Griffin knew a whole lot more than she let on. 

Even from a distance away, he could see a slight pink hue to Clarke’s cheeks. She was laughing her realized and shaking her head, before turning back to look at Marcus and Abby. They exchanged a few more words before Clarke smiled at her mother, touching her hand. Marcus was not satisfied with a simple touch and pulled her into a hug. Marus and Abby waved to him before leaving. Bellamy waved back hesitantly.

“You couldn’t just go upstairs, could you?” Clarke had joined him on the stairs.

“Technically, I am upstairs” he pointed out, grinning at her. 

She laughed softly, shaking her head “my mom is such a pain” she sighed. 

“She likes me, huh?” he grinned at her. 

“She thinks you’re good for me” Clarke replied. “And she wants us to have dinner with them before we leave.”

“Well, i happen to agree with her” he pulled her into his arms, his hand resting on her hips. “And I will leave dinner for you to decide” he tugged her closer, dropping a soft kiss on her lips, To his delight, she leaned into the kiss, resting her hands on his shoulders. 

“I will think about dinner” she agreed, “but first, it’s movie time” she scooted out of his embrace. “So, I need to change, and so do you mister, because I fully intend to exact my revenge for your funny comment” she pushed him towards the end of the hall.

“Bring it on princess” he hauled her back into his arms “just remember revenge is a dish best served cold” he laughed, kissing her again. This kiss was a little more intense than the last.

“Promises, promises” she tsked escaping his embrace and dashing into her room. 

Bellamy laughed at her, then headed into his own room to change. 

“Did she change her mind?” Harper asked when Clarke still hadn’t joined them. 

“She seemed like she was looking forward to this” Bellamy shrugged “maybe she just…”   
The words died in his throat when Clarke appeared in the doorway and shedded her coverup.  
She wore a one-piece swimsuit that hugged her figure and accentuated her ample breast. She looked better in that one-piece swimsuit, than most girls did in a bikini. 

“Stop looking at me like that” she pulled her arms around herself. 

“Can’t help it” he shrugged “I like looking at you.”

“Geez, will you two get a room already” Raven walked up behind her, breaking the moment.

“Okay Griffin, how are we supposed to watch a movie?” Murphy hollered, patience was never his strongest trait. 

“Calm down Murphy” she groaned walking to a panel on the side of the house. She opened the panel and pressed a button. A white screen rolled down from the overhang. 

“Your dad was an amazing engineer” Monty shook his head in wonder. 

Clarke opened another door and rolled out a dvd player and a projector mounted on a cart onto the deck on the opposite side of the pool. She opened a drawer “okay here are our choices” she began to read off the names. 

“I want a do over” Murphy grumbled when a cinderella-type story set in early France won the popular vote. 

“Too bad” Clarke laughed “this is my favorite movie, but if you’re nice, maybe we can watch another one.”

Clarke pushed the play button and adjusted the projector, then walked into the pool settling herself on a large conch shell pool toy. Bellamy joined her on the shell. Murphy settled on another large toy, a bull, with Raven seated in front of him. The others similarly assembled themselves on other pool toys and settled in to watch the movie. 

Bellamy enjoyed listening to Clarke quote the lines in the movie. This clearly was her favorite movie. He loved the way she snuggled against him. He wasn’t sure what had changed, but she was more open to whatever this thing they were doing, what they were becoming,turned out to be.

As it turned out, there was enough “manly” action in the movie, as Murphy put it. “That wasn't so bad” he admitted. “But I still want a redo” he jumped off the floating bull he was on, nearly toppling Raven in the process, and choose a new movie. 

“I hate you Murphy” Clarke growled after realizing he had chosen a horror flick. The genre was her least favorite. She was not brave enough for those kinds of movies. 

When the movie started, Clarke buried her head in his chest. Bellamy chuckled “what’s the matter princess?” he stroked her arm lightly “scared.”

“I hate these movies” she admitted.

Bellamy paused, his breath hitching in her throat as her hot breath landed on his chest. “Good to know” he lowered his voice “now I know how to get you to let me hold you” he whispered into her ear.

Clarke closed her eyes, the sound of his voice and rush of heat against her ears made her insides swirl. She wasn’t sure what this thing was between her and Bellamy, but she was kind of enjoying it.

Bellamy felt her body relax against his, and her breath even out, as she fell asleep in his arms, lulled by the slow movement of the pool water. He smiled down at her, wondering what Abby had said to her about him. Careful not to move too fast and wake her, he paddled their raft to the deep end of the pool, lodging it into the corner of the rectangle. He was content to watch her rather than the movie.She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, as if she didn’t bear the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She shivered involuntarily in his arms. Bellamy could feel goosebumps on her skin. “Hey,” he nudged her gently “why don’t you go lay on one of the chairs, I’ll get a towel to cover you” he easily hoisted her body to the pool deck. She sat there for a second, still waking up, then got to her feet and slowly made her way to a chaise lounger on the patio. Bellamy lifted himself off the raft onto the deck, launching the raft as he did. It ran straight into Murphy and Raven’s bull. Raven smirked at him, but he merely shrugged and kept walking to the closet where Abby kept the towels. 

He decided he wanted to take a few of these towels with him. They were three times as big as regular bath towels, which made for great blankets. He grabbed two of them and walked back to where Clarke was curled up. He draped the blanket over her sleeping form and sat in the chair next to her, covering himself with the second towel. When her hand dropped between the chairs, he gripped it in his, threading his fingers through hers. She shifted in her sleep, but did not remove her hand. He watched her for a few moments, before closing his eyes and he too fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Clarke woke up later, shivering, despite the heavy towel someone had covered her with. Probably Bellamy she realized after she looked over at him, also sleeping under one of the ginormous towels from the cabinet. The pool was empty, the screen having been recalled into to the side of the house and the projector put away. She had to remember to thank her friends later for taking care of that. She sat up, putting the lounger back into a sitting position, waking Bellamy in the process. 

“Hey” he looked over at her, drawing his own chair into a sitting position “it’s a little chilly.”

“A little” Clarke agreed, craning her neck “it’s been a long time since I fell asleep in one of these” she murmured. “They used to be more comfortable.”

“Or maybe you used to be younger” he countered, understanding what she meant. He stretched his own shoulders and chest, linking his hands together, drawing them above his head. 

“Are you calling me old Bellamy Blake?” she turned to face him, hands on her hips.

“Why would I do that since I’m older than you?” he grinned, standing to his feet. He reached for her hand. 

“Smooth, very smooth” Clarke grinned, placing her hand in his. 

He helped her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You’re cold” he declared feeling the coolness of her skin against his. 

“Years ago, this wouldn’t have bothered me” she laughed. 

“You slept out here?” he asked.

“Sure, if I fell asleep while dad and I were watching a movie, he’d just cover me up and go to bed.” She went on to tell him how she would wake up a few hours later to find either her dad or Bella sitting up on the couch keeping an eye on her. 

“I’m stealing some of these towels” he declared dropping a dry one around her shoulders. 

“I am too” she laughed “maybe more.”

“Come on” he tugged her towards the living room door “let’s get you warmed up.”

The house was quiet when they entered, but Bellamy did notice Bella sitting on the couch, knitting something. “Some things never change” she smiled lovingly at Clarke.

Clarke laughed softly, walking over to the housekeeper “I’m going to miss you” she kissed the woman’s cheek.

“I’ve missed you for years, my dear” the older woman smiled at her. 

“I’ll try to visit more,” Clarke promised. “You can go to bed now. I’m headed to mine. Thank you” she smiled at the housekeeper. 

“I need to take a shower” Clarke declared, standing at her door. 

“Yeah, me too” he agreed “maybe when you’re done we can talk?” he looked at her hopefully.

“I’d like that,” she agreed. 

Bellamy took the fastest shower on record, stripping off his swim clothes and putting on some sweats and a tee shirt. He waited for another fifteen minutes before deciding to cross the hall to Clarke’s room. Before he had a chance, there was a soft rap on his door. He opened it to find clarke standing there in the same fuzzy pink robe she wore the other night. “Hey” he held the door open for her to walk through, in a quiet tone.

“Hey” she returned just as quiet. “We need to..” she began the same time he began to talk.

He laughed nervously “sorry, go ahead” he walked toward the chair next to his bed.

“What are we doing here Bellamy?” she sighed. 

“I..I don’t know” he admitted. “I just know that you make me want things I’ve never wanted” he reached for her hand. He threaded his fingers through hers “you feel it, too right?” he looked at her.

She nodded “I do, it’s kind of scary” she admitted.

“Yeah, it is” he agreed, “but is it too scary.”

“Not if we take it slow, I guess” she agreed.

He placed a finger on her chin “we won’t go any faster than is right for us” he promised.

“Okay” she nodded in agreement “I can live with that.”

“Me too” he agreed. “So, I guess we probably need to get some sleep, huh?” he glanced at his closed door. 

“Probably, especially if I plan on leaving Murphy in the mud tomorrow...literally” she laughed softly. 

“I want to see that,” Bellamy snickered. 

“Oh you will” she grinned cheekily “trust me” she laughed. “I suppose I should go back to my room now” she sighed, looking down at the floor. 

“Or you could stay here” he offered “no strings attached” he added. 

“Are you sure?” he heard the uncertainty in her voice. 

“Positive” he reached for her hand. She took his hand, allowing him to lead her to the bed. “No strings” he repeated pulling back the covers. 

Clarke crawled into the bed, moving to the center of it. Bellamy slid in beside her, pulling her to his side. “I don’t bite” he sucked her earlobe between his lips “unless you ask me to.”

Clarke’s breath caught in her throat “Bellamy” she sighed as he gathered her closer, pulling her back into his chest. “I..I can’t, not here..” 

“I know” he whispered “I just couldn’t help myself.

“I’m not complaining” he heard the smile on her face. “I’m just not ready for that, not yet” she turned her head to look at him.

“I’ll be here when you are princess,” he promised. “Until then, this is enough” he looped an arm over her, then covered them both with the covers. Clarke snuggled into his warmth, and closed her eyes. Within moments, they were both asleep. 

Bellamy awoke the next morning to find Clarke had shifted in her sleep. Her head was buried in his chest, her blonde hair a halo around her face. He smiled softly, parting her hair so he could see her face. He bent to kiss her forehead. 

She stirred, beginning to wake up. “Hi” she smiled up at him. 

“Hi yourself” he returned. “Did you sleep well?”

She nodded, her head still resting on his chest “I haven’t slept that good in a long time” she admitted, “even at home.”

Bellamy idly played with a strand of her hair, that was a feeling he knew all too well. “Happy to be of help, princess” he laughed. 

“We should probably get up” she sighed.

“Yeah, probably” he agreed, “we wouldn’t want Raven to find you here now would we?” he snickered. 

“Hell, she’d probably throw a party” Clarke chuckled, leaning on her arms against his chest.

“Speaking of home” Bellamy looked down at her “when are we going back to Arkadia?” It was funny to him how Clarke’s house had somehow become more like a home, than his own house. He looked forward to seeing Clarke and Raven everyday, especially Clarke.

“Probably in a day or so” she shrugged “I want to pack up my dad’s office and my room.   
They’d been in Polis for four days and would have to get back by the next monday for some of them to get back to work. “But first, we’re going to have a little fun” she smirked, rising to a sitting position.

“First” he sat up as well, drawing her to him “I need this” he kissed her softly. The kiss started soft with him teasing her in slow, fluid motions. His tongue brushing her lips. 

“Bellamy” she moaned leaning into his chest. 

He laughed softly, still not fully capturing her lips “tell me what you want princess” he whispered against her lips. In answer, she threaded her fingers through his hair, tugging him closer. Bellamy laughed softly “as you wish princess” he claimed her lips in a searing kiss that left them both shaken. 

Placing a hand on either hip, he dragged her onto his lap, breaking contact with her lips so they could breathe. When she dropped her head back, gasping for air, he moved his mouth to her throat, nuzzling the tender skin below. One hand remained on her hip, holding her firmly in place, not that he needed to. Clarke continued to press against him, as if she couldn’t get close enough. The other hand roamed up her chest. He groaned against her throat when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. 

He ran a finger under her breast, laughing softly at the shuddering breath it caused. “Bellamy” she arched against him, pushing her firm, round breast into his hand. Bellamy’s hand closed over it, his fingers teasing the nipple until it was hard. “Please” she pleaded, reaching for his other hand. 

“Clarke” we don’t have a lot of time” his breath was as ragged as hers. He wanted to tear her shirt off and take her erect nipples into his mouth, but sooner, rather than later, their friends would come look for them. 

“You really shouldn’t be a tease” she grinned, her lips finding his jawline. “But I guess you do have a point” she sighed, hearing the sounds of their friends moving around.

“Tonight” he promised, capturing her lips once more. “And this time, no one will stop us, I swear.”

They broke apart and covered up just as the door opened. “How did I know I would find you in here?” Raven smirked at Clarke. 

“We were talking and fell asleep” Clarke shrugged. 

“Yeah right” Raven snorted “and if you think I believe that…” she laughed. “Besides whatever this is” she pointed at the them “I am all for it.”

“We’re glad you approve” Bellamy laughed softly, wrapping an arm around Clarke’s waist.

Clarke rolled her eyes “Do I get a vote?” she asked. 

“No” Bellamy and Raven answered at the same time. They dearly loved Clarke, but she was great a sabotaging the good things that came her way.

Clarke dropped her head, laughing softly “well okay then” she chuckled.

“I will let you guys finish whatever you were doing..” she grinned wickedly at them. Clarke buried her pink cheeks into Bellamy’s shoulder.

“Too late” Bellamy grinned, dropping a kiss on the top of her head “but we do need to get dressed, so…” he glanced pointedly at the door.

“Got it” Raven smiled at them “I’ll distract everyone tonight, so you two can finish what I interrupted” she laughed openly at Clarke’s audible groan.

“I hate you” Clarke murmured.

“Sure ya do” Raven made her way to the door “tell me how much you hate me tomorrow morning.” They heard her laughing on the other side of the door after she closed it.  
“I’m going to kill her” Clarke declared, lifting her head to meet Bellamy’s gaze. He took advantage of her position and claimed her lips in a searing kiss that took her breath away.   
“This is not going to make getting out of bed easier” she whispered against his lips.

“This sounds like more fun to me” he reached for her. 

“Uh-huh” Clarke squirmed out of his arms “you’re just going to have to wait until tonight” she laughed, climbing out the other side of the bed. 

“That’s just mean” Bellamy collapsed on the bed, watching her pull on her pants.”

“I’m sure you can figure out how to make it up to me tonight” she leaned over and kissed him softly. 

“You can definitely count on that” he dragged her back into his arms “and trust me, it will be a very, short night” he assured her. 

“Which can’t happen until you get dressed, too” she pointed out. 

“Fine” he stole another kiss “but tonight, all bets are off” he promised, releasing her and climbing off the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little fun and a lot of smut in this chapter....enjoy

“You better watch out Murphy or you’ll end up in the mud” Bellamy yelled at his best friend as he and Raven watched Clarke, Monty and Murphy run the ATV’s in the muddy field later that day. 

“Again” Raven guffawed.They had wandered into the garage after breakfast to find among other amazing things three ATV’s. 

Bellamy was once again amazed to see another side of Clarke he didn’t expect. He stood back and watched in amazement as she approached the ATV’s and checked the gas and oil levels in them. They sat on each one, turning them on and listening intently to the sounds each one made. After a few minutes on each one, she pronounced them ready to ride, then directed Murphy to open the garage door, while Bellamy pulled a truck, her father’s as it turned out, into the driveway. She then hauled a trailer from the garage, and expertly hooked it onto the truck, as if she’d been doing it her whole life. 

“Well look at you, smarty pants” Murphy grinned at her. Clearly, Bellamy was not the only one surprised at her ability to do what she had done. She reminded him that she’d been doing this for years with her dad.   
Once the trailer was hitched to the truck, Clarke motioned for the others to help load the ATV’s and pile in, then drove them to a muddy field thirty minutes away, where they were currently romping in the mud and muck. 

“My turn” Jasper jumped up, hauling Maya with him when the three of them returned. 

Clarke climber off her cycle giving it to Jasper, then collapsed on the grass next to Bellamy. “I forgot how fun the was” she laughed, laying her head on his shoulder. 

“You should laugh more often” he looped an arm around her, holding her close. 

“This reminds me of when my dad and I would come out’ she smiled softly. “I miss him. A lot.”

“I know” he kissed the side of her head and held her to him. “So are you taking these home with us?” he asked. 

She nodded “and the Vette, too” her smile was a little sad. 

‘The Vette” was another thing that surprised Bellamy. Among the treasures in the garage was a candy apple red, convertible corvette. Even in the dim lighting of the garage, the classic car shined bright. Clearly, it had been well cared for. 

“Was this your dad’s?” Octavia walked over to it, giving it an appreciative once over.

“Technically it’s mine” Clarke ran her hands lovingly over the bright, red paint “but he drove it until I was old enough to do so. Even then, we had to sneak it out because mom was afraid I would crash it” she laughed softly. 

“So, I get to drive the vette home, right?” Murphy plopped down next to Raven, grinning over at Clarke. 

“No, she’s all mine” Clarke shook her head, “but I might take you for a ride in it someday” she grinned at him. 

“I’d rather drive it” he grumbled, good-naturedly.

“Too bad” Clarke laughed at his pouty face “that’s my baby” she spoke softly. “I would keep it here if mom wasn’t selling the house.” 

“I bet your dad would love that you are taking it home” Bellamy murmured, running his hand up and down her arm reassuringly. 

“He would” she agreed “he used to tell me that he wasn’t going to be around forever and I needed to remember to live a little.”

“Sounds like a smart man” Bellamy tipped her head to look into her eyes. 

“He would have liked you” she grinned. 

“I think I would’ve liked him, too” he smiled at her

“Please tell me we’re taking the ATV’s back with us” Monty had joined them, covered from head to toe in mud like the rest of them. 

“That’s the plan” Clarke laughed at his enthusiasm “I was going to take them to my grandparent’s house and land just outside of Arkadia.”

“You grandparents live in Arkadia?” Bellamy asked. 

“Not anymore” Clarke shook her head “but my dad inherited their house and land, and when he died, I inherited it from him.”

“But you bought a house in town?” Lincoln asked, looking confused.

“After my dad died, I couldn’t go to my grandparent’s house” she sighed sadly. “It hurt too much to be anywhere he used to be, but that’s changing I think” she smiled softly. “He wouldn’t want me to be sad all the time.”

“Gee, where have I heard that before?” Raven cocked her head at CLarke “oh yeah, I’ve said it, about a million times” she grunted.

“Well, I’m a little..” Clarke began

“Hard-headed?” Murphy interrupted

“Stubborn?” Raven added.

“Mule-headed” Harper added.

“Okay, I think she gets the point” Bellamy stopped them before anyone else piped in.

“My hero” she kissed his cheek, grinning at him.

“Or maybe he’s just trying to make sure he doesn’t sleep on the couch tonight” Raven countered, giving them an evil grin. 

“Please tell me we’re taking these home” Jasper returned a huge grin on his face.

“Yes, we’re taking them home” Clarke shook her head, sometimes Jasper could be such a big kid. 

“Speaking of home, when are we leaving?” Maya asked.

“Probably the day after tomorrow” Clarke looked at her friends to see if that was okay. “I want to pack up my dad’s office and some of the stuff from my room to take home with me.”

“That means the fun is over” Murphy groaned, a playful note in his tone.

“You still have tonight” Clarke told him “but yes, I would appreciate your help taking care of the packing” she looked at the rest of the group as well. They all nodded in agreement, knowing coming here was about more than just a week or two away from everything.

“Right now” Jasper stood up “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” I say we head back to the house and find some food.”

“Of course you do” Bellamy laughed, not that he and the others didn’t agree, but he would be the first person to mention it. 

They loaded up the ATV’s into the trailer and piled into the pickup, making their way back to the house as Clarke pointed out some of the sites in their neighborhood. Some of the houses were bigger than his and Clarke’s and Monty’s house all put together. When they pulled into the gated estate, the garage door was open, but Clarke parked the truck and trailer in the circle drive. 

An older man immediately came and took the keys from her “Robert” she flung her arms around his neck. 

“Hello my dear” the older man hugged her firmly “Bella told me you were taking these old things out today and that I should be here when you get back” he released her and stood back. “I’ll take them to the car wash and clean the mud off” he assured her.

“Thanks, Robert you’re the best” she kissed his cheek.

“Anything for our little princess” he smiled at her “we miss you around here.”

“You and Bella can come visit in Arkadia anytime you want” she told him “I have plenty of room there. Not as much as here, but still plenty.”

“Maybe after your mother sells this place, I can talk Bella into that, but until she does..” the old man laughed “well you know how it is.”

“I do” Clarke nodded in agreement “I, for one, certainly appreciate you sharing your wife with us” she kissed the old man’s cheek. 

“It was our pleasure” he grinned at her. “Her stories of you made our little world so much more entertaining” he laughed softly.

Clarke laughed at that “I’ll bet it did.” 

“Well you best get out of those clothes and get cleaned up” Robert motioned for them to enter through the garage. 

“That’s Bella’s husband,” Clarke explained as they walked toward the garage together, telling them that he had worked for them when her father was alive, but had recently retired and now only occasionally helped them out. 

“Like when you make a big mess with the ATV’s?” Murphy snickered.

“Yeah, mostly” Clarke agreed, laughing at him. 

Before they reached the door, it was opened and Bella stood before them “Don’t even think about coming into this house looking like that” she told them, hands on her hips. “You will find towels and robes on the deck, use the pool shower. And don’t just jump in the pool” she looked at Murphy.

“It’s like she knows you man,” Jasper snickered.

“And that’s how the white interior of the house stays white” Clarke laughed softly, leading them to the door in the garage that emptied into the pool and deck area. Bellamy noticed the older woman smiled at them, despite her insistence they not enter the house.

Bellamy was not surprised to see towels and robes laid across the lounge chairs on the pool deck. An empty hamper sat next to it. He was surprised to see a small outer building opened that held two shower stalls. He’d seen the building before, but assumed it was a shed that held pool accessories. Clarke and Raven grabbed a towel and a robe then headed toward the showers. 

Murphy glanced at the pool, a mischiefious look on his face. 

“Don’t even think about it” Bellamy warned him.

“Party pooper” Murphy settled into the chair next to the one Bellamy occupied. “So, what’s up with you and Clarke?” he asked. 

“I don’t know what you mean” Bellamy shrugged.

“Bull” Murphy countered “I think you know exactly what I mean.”

“I don’t know what exactly is going on” Bellamy sighed “I just know that it’s nice being near her, holding her...kiss…” 

“I knew it” Murphy pointed a finger at him, “all this time, you have been saying how much you detest her, but you really had a thing for her” he grinned.

“I swear it wasn’t like that” Bellamy disagreed, shaking his head “I always thought she was just a spoiled, little rich girl who could never understand why she wasn’t like us” he admitted.

“So, what changed your mind?” Murphy prodded.

“The night I came back, she said there was no way she could let me stay at the Liberty, that is was too dangerous.” He went on to explain how Clarke insisted that he stay in her basement, for Octavia’s sake. 

“Good for her, only people with a death wish or have no other choice stay the the Liberty” Murphy grunted. The rat hole motel at the end of Arkadia was truly a dangerous and disgusting place. 

“I spent probably the first three or four weeks just hiding in her basement, she didn’t bother me or tell anybody I was there” he shrugged. 

“Of course not” Murphy laughed softly “if anyone knows a thing or two about hiding away from everybody, it’s Clarke Griffin.”

Bellamy went on to tell him how he and Clarke, and occasionally Raven had spent their evenings eating dinner and watching TV. “I learned a whole lot about Clarke in those times” he admitted, “like how I may have misjudged her all those years.”

“You’re not alone in that” Murphy shrugged “she’s hard to get to know sometimes, but when she does let you in, you learn there’s more to her than she lets you see.”

Bellamy’s head turned as Raven and Clarke emerged from the showers. Clarke dressed in her fluffy, pink robe. She was the only one who had a different colored robe. He grinned at the loving care Bella put into Clarke. He would have to remember to thank her one day. At the moment however, he wondered what she wore underneath the tightly closed material causing other parts of his body to react. Luckily, he had his own robe, in his lap covering the fact. 

“Come on Romeo” Murphy snickered at the way his attention was immediately drawn to Clarke. “The sooner you get cleaned up, the sooner you can take Clarke away and get dirty again” he whispered so low only Bellamy could hear him. 

Bellamy shook his head “Raven talks too much” he sighed. 

“Well, she needed someone to help her distract the others tonight, naturally, I volunteered” he grinned wickedly. “I’m sure it’s been a while since…”

“Don’t finish that thought” Bellamy warned.

Murphy merely laughed and stood up heading to the showers. He tried to pull Raven in for a kiss, but she jumped out of his reach “uh-huh” she shook her head “I just got cleaned up.”

“Looks like somebody isn’t going to get lucky tonight” he chuckled, following his friend.

“A sacrifice I will willingly make for you” he laughed loudly at Clarke’s blush.

Bellamy mouthed an apology to her before running after Murphy to the showers.

“You told him?” Clarke cocked her head at Raven. 

“I tell him everything” she shrugged. “Besides, the only two people in the dark about what you and Bellamy are doing, is you and Bellamy” she pointed out.

“Were not in the dark” Clarke denied, “Were just taking things slowly, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess not” Raven snorted “but think of the things you could be doing…” she leered at her friend. At Clarke’s blush, Raven grinned even broader “or are you holding out on me?” she laughed. 

“We haven’t done..much” Clarke denied, unable to stop her blush from growing.

“But you have done something other than kissing, right?” Raven inquired.

“That was so much fun today” Jasper flounced down on the ground in front of Clarke, sparing her from answering that question.

“You suck Jasper” Raven grimaced at him.

He merely grinned “what?” he shrugged, completely unaware of what he had interrupted. 

Clarke laughed, taking the advantage of his interruption to walk over to the table of food Bella had apparently placed earlier. She picked up a plate, pilling it with finger sandwiches, chips and potato salad. 

“Yeah better carb up” Bellamy walked up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. His breath was hot in her ear, causing her to exhale swiftly “because you will get very little sleep tonight” his voice had dropped to a husky whisper.

“Promises, promises” she retorted scooting out of his arms. 

Bellamy laughed softly “I always keep my promises.”

“Get a room” Murphy had joined them as two more people claimed the showers.

“Don’t worry, we plan on it” Bellamy murmured “but first, food” he took his plate and walked to the deck where Clarke sat on a chair eating.

“Ok, who wants to watch a movie?” Raven asked, as they all lounged in their robes on the deck. There was an excited murmur among their friends. “But first you all need to get some clothes on” she declared, “we don’t want any wardrobe malfunctions” she grinned. 

She walked over to Bellamy and Clarke “will you two be joining us?” she flashed them a knowing grin.

“I don’t think we will” he stood up, holding out his hand to Clarke, “unless you want to,” he looked down at her. 

She stood up, placing her hand into his “I think we’ll pass, but thanks” Clarke agreed. 

“You two have fun, you hear” Raven snickered as Bellamy tugged Clarke toward the house.  
Clarke buried her head in his shoulder. “Come on princess” he grinned “I have a promise to keep” he nipped at her earlobe. Clarke shivered at his touch.

When they got upstairs, Bellamy paused in the hallway between their rooms “your room or mine?” he cocked his head. 

“Yours” she declared “mine still screams teenage girl” she grinned. 

“Meanwhile, teenage Clarke knew how to have a little fun” he chuckled. 

“Well maybe you can show me how to have fun” Clarke wound her arms around his neck.

“I can definitely do that” he agreed, capturing her lips with his. He lifted her off her feet and carried her to his room. Clarke wrapped her legs around his waist, leaning into the kiss. Once in the room, Bellamy closed the door and pressed Clarke against it, kissing her until they were both gasping for air.

Bellamy dragged his away from hers, dropping his lips to her throat. 

“Bellamy” she sighed raggedly, her fingers tightening their grip on his hair, “please” she pleaded, arching against him.

“All I have been thinking about the last twenty minutes is what is underneath this” his hands had moved to the knotted front of her fuzzy robe. He unwound her legs from his waist, dropping them to the floor. 

“Maybe you should find out” Clarke breathed heavily, placing her hand over the knot, helping him to untie in. 

“Oh, I will” he leaned in whispering in her ear, “but first” he tugged her toward the bed “I’m going to have my wicked way with you” he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Once there, he lowered her to a standing position in front of the bed. 

With a final tug on the thin, fuzzy belt, the robe swung open, revealing Clarke’s perfect, naked body. “Beautiful” Bellamy sighed, wrapping one arm around her waist, while the other pushed the robe off her body, dropping it into a puddle on the floor.

“Bell....” before she had a chance to finish that thought, he gently pushed her onto the bed following her down. 

“I’m going to make your body sing” he whispered huskily, gazing at her with passion lidded eyes, before claiming her lips in a breath-taking kiss. 

Several hours later, Clarke woke up tucked firmly into Bellamy’s chest. His arm looped over her stomach, their bodies still connected. She’d lost track of the times, he’d taken her to the edge, only to stop and pull her back, before finally letting her go over the edge again and again and again and again. In the middle of all that, he touched and tasted every inch of her body from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, taking special time to savor certain parts of her body.

She could tell by his even breathing that he was still sleeping. She had no idea what time it was, but she could hear laughter floating up from the deck below, and see the light illuminating from the projector. She moved slightly, causing him to involuntarily tugging her back against him. She smiled at his movement, even asleep he still wanted her close to him. Unfortunately, she needed to get up soon or he would get an awakening neither of them wanted. 

She carefully lifted his hand, attempting to scoot away from his embrace. “Stay here” he murmured sleepily, tugging her back. 

“I’m just need to go to the bathroom” she laughed softly “unless you’d rather I’d do it here” she grinned. 

“I’ve got better uses for that smart mouth of yours” Bellamy drawled, lifting his hand off her waist. Thoughts of the ways she used her mouth on his body last night, returned quickly. 

“you can tell me about them when I get back” she promised, grinning cheekily at him. 

She dropped a soft kiss on his lips “that will not get you to the bathroom any quicker” he warned, grinning wickedly at her. 

“you can tell me about that too when I get back” she laughed, scooting out of his embrace as he reached for her again. Bellamy watched her leave unashamedly watching her naked form walk away. He clutched the pillow she’d slept on waiting for her to return. When she did he openly smiled at her, standing for a second in the bathroom doorway, arms crossed over her chest. 

“What are you doing?” she shook her head.

“enjoying the view” he admitted, grinning at her.

“are you now?” she teased, dropping her hands and walking toward him. “Do you want this?” leaned in to kiss him softly. She pulled back before he could wrap his arms around her, pulling her into him.

“Clarke” he groaned, dropping his head onto the pillow, then looked up at her again. 

“you want it?” she taunted, hands on her hips “come and get it” she purred backing away. 

He smirked “If I have to come get you princess, it will be a long time before we get anymore sleep” he warned, still sprawled on the bed, partially covered. 

“promises, promises” she laughed softly, backing away.   
Bellamy growled, rising from the bed, the sheet draping him falling to the bed. “you asked for it princess” he grinned wickedly at her, climbing off the bed. She squealed, bolting for the bathroom, attempting to close the door before he reached it. 

“nice try princess” he pushed the door open, closing it behind him and locking it. He eyed the Jacuzzi style club, wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled her to him, clamping her in place. The other hand turned on the water, filling the tub. He pushed her against the wall, holding her in place with his body. “I’ve always wanted to do it in a hot tub” he whispered huskily, nuzzling her neck.

Clarke sighed, visibly relaxing under his ministrations. “what no protests?” he looked into her eyes, laughing at her. 

“not at the moment” she looped her arms around his neck. “but I’m sure you can fix that.”

“oh yes” he agreed dropping to his knees, lifting one of her legs over his shoulders. When he buried his head between her legs, 

“Bellamy” she moaned, threading her fingers into his hair. She arched her back, resting her head against the wall. It didn’t take long for her to her release into his willing mouth. 

Afterwards, he lowered her leg to the floor, holding her until she was steady, then he turned the water off and turned the jets on the tub to high. “ready princess?” he held out his hand, climbing into the tub. 

“almost” she reached between them, cupping him between her hands. 

“Clarke” he growled, stretching out his arms to brace himself against the walls. 

“turnabouts fair play” she murmured, dropping to her knees taking him into her mouth. He gasped audibly, breathing raggedly. Bellamy shivered and groaned when she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. 

“Clarke” he ground out “I need you now” he pulled out of her mouth, dragging her up from her knees. 

“Then take me” she stepped into the tub. 

Bellamy didn’t need a second invitation. He lifted her into his arms, settling her legs around his waist. He dropped them both to sit in the hot, bubbling water, pushing into her as he did. She wrapped her arms around his neck bobbing up and down on his erect shaft. She threw her head back, moaning his name when he increased the pushing. He felt her tighten around him, crying his name as her release came, followed immediately by his. 

Afterwards, she rested her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. “was it everything you ever imagined?” she was finally able to speak, grinning at him. 

“I might have to try it again” he kissed her softly “you know to have something to compare it to.”

She turned to lean her back against his chest, seated comfortably in his lap, his arm wrapped around her waist. “I’ll get back to you on that” she laughed softly, laying her head on his shoulders. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, both of them enjoying the bubbling water, swirling around them. 

“This is nice” he murmured, adding a hot tub to the list of things he was going to add to the list of things to create at their house in Arkadia. The number of times he was beginning to think of her house as home had taken him by surprise. Not too long ago, the two of them couldn’t be in the same room together, let alone the same bed or bathtub. 

“I could get used to this” she agreed quietly. 

“This doesn’t have to end” he spoke quietly “when we go back home, I mean.” Her long silence after his comment worried him. He thought maybe he’d gone too far in expressing his hopes that this, whatever it turned out to be, was more than a one-time thing.

“does it scare you?” she turned her head to look at him.

“does it scare you?” he repeated the question back to her. 

“a little” she admitted “I’ve not had good luck with relationships.” That much Bellamy knew. He’d seen the train wrecks she’d dated, male and female, often wondering what she saw in them. Of the few relationships she’d had, one wanted to control her and the other, a guy Bellamy had only met once seemed to be hung up on her family’s money. 

Turned out Finn, the guy in question was also a philandering playboy, also seeing Raven at the same time. That didn’t work out so well for him when the women met, realizing what a scumbag he was. In the end, both of them dumped him, quickly becoming friends, then roommates. 

“I like you Clarke” his tone was low. “I like spending time with you, in and out of the bed” he declared. “I want to keep doing that, and this” his hand drifted down her body, disappearing below the bubbly water. 

“that wasn’t always the case” she countered, trying to ignore the sensations he was creating as his hand slid between her parted thighs. 

“no, it wasn’t” he agreed “but that was before I got to know you better” he admitted, apologizing for judging her based on his perception of her. “I might have been a little jealous” he laughed softly. “Everybody else had to work for a living, while you appeared to have won the golden ticket” he admitted.

“and now?” she gasped breathlessly, when he dipped a finger into her hot center, moving it in and out of her, adding two more as he spoke. 

“now” he grinned wickedly, knowing exactly what he was doing to her with his finger. His other hand cupped one full breast, thumbing the erect nipple, “I know that I was wrong” he replied, sucking one earlobe between his lips. “That maybe you are more than a spoiled princess” he admitted.

Clarke lost the ability to think about their current topic, when he settled her most sensitive spot between his thumb and finger, working it furiously, then stopping completely, leaving her gasping, pressing into his groin. “that’s not fa…” she cried, only to be stopped by her inability to breathe when he took it between his fingers again. She ground her hips against him, whimpering softly. With a final flick of her finger, she exploded onto him, coating his hands with her release.

“all’s fair in love and war” he retorted, turning her so that she straddled his rock-hard erection. He claimed her mouth in a searing kiss, his hands on either side of her waist as she rode him, bouncing up and down in his lap. 

“you’re going to be the death of me” she declared, resting against him after her second release.

“but what a way to go” he countered softly, kissing her again. 

“What a way to go” she agreed tiredly “but before we go again I need to sleep” she rested her head on his shoulders.

“I’m not going anywhere, princess” he wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling softly at her, as she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. “not going anywhere” he repeated, kissing her softly. To his surprise, he meant that. He wanted to be with her, stay with her, wherever she was.

The next time Clarke woke up, she was tangled against Bellamy’s body, his arms wrapped around her. The sun was shining in the window. The last thing she remembered was laying against Bellamy’s chest in the tub. 

“Morning sunshine” Bellamy grinned at her. 

“Morning” she yawned and stretched, stll laying against him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you” she looked up at him.  
“Well, we did have a busy night” he leamed down, kissing her softly.

“Any regrets?” he stroked her cheek.

“Not one” she shook her head “but you know Raven is going to give us a bunch of crap” she murmured. 

“I know” he grinned “we’ll just make her walk home” he ran his free hand up and down her bare back. 

Clarke’s phone rang on the bedside table. Bellamy lifted it up and handed it to her. “Hi mom” she answered, recognizing the tone. Bellamy laughed at her mom’s ring tone. 

He kissed the top of her head, still running on hand up and down her back. He dropped a kiss to the middle of her back, making her shiver. She swatted at his hand, but he grabbed it, playfully holding it behind her back. 

“No, I’m still here” she spoke into the phone, shooting him a dirty look. He just smirked, placing another kiss on the back of her neck.

“Yeah, sure I’m sure we can do that” he heard her say, still running his hands over her body. One hand slipped under her body, cupping her breast. At her sudden intake of breath, he laughed softly. Clarke struggled to keep her tone even, managing to finish the phone call without giving anything away...hopefully.

“That was not fair” she drawled, straddling his hips. 

“Are you complaining princess?” he laughed softly, twisting one hard nipple between his fingers. 

“Really?” she shook her head, “how many times do you thi…” the word died on her lips when he closed his mouth over her breast. Clarke gave up trying to resist him. He laughed victoriously, laying her down on the bed, covering her body with his.


	12. Chapter 12

Later, Bellamy and Clarke sat across the table from Abby and Marcus, enjoying an early brunch. The others had partied well into the night and had yet to wake up, sparing Clarke and Bellamy knowing looks. He was sure they would get those anyway, but he didn’t really care. 

“So, Bellamy, what do you do?” Marcus had asked him. Clarke groaned knowing the inquisition was coming, hoping she was wrong. 

He laughed softly, clutching her hand under the table. “I just got back from Iraq” he replied “spent most of that time hiding out, readjusting…”

“Been there, done that” Marcus nodded at him “it can be a tough to make that adjustment.”

Bellamy nodded, not saying anything. He hadn’t spoken much about his time in Iraq. Clarke figured when he was ready he would. “When we get back to Arkadia, I’m going to work for my friend Nate at his bar” he told them. He went on to explain that he had enrolled in classes starting in the fall the become a teacher.

“let me guess History and Literature” Clarke grinned at him.

He shrugged “why not, if Uncle Sam is willing to pay for it, I will take it and use it for a good thing” he grinned. 

Clarke felt bad for not knowing these things. Bellamy had spent a lot of time lately, getting to know her and her life, but she knew very little about his. She would have to change that. “Makes sense” Clarke laughed “you should have seen him when he saw dad’s library.”

“Jake loved that place” Abby grinned “he swore someday everything in it would belong to Clarke and she would share it with her kids.” 

Clarke shook her head at her mother, it was as if she knew something had changed between them. “I was going to take them, and dad’s desk too if you didn’t mind” she admitted. 

“including your secret garden?” Abby cocked her head.

“you knew about that?” Clarke asked. 

“Of course, I did” Abby admitted. “Only because I couldn’t find you one day and your dad told me where to find you.” She went on to tell them how she had found Clarke curled up asleep on her small bed. “I just left you and let you sleep” she shrugged, “your dad said you knew how to get out if you wanted to.”

“I did” Clarke agreed. She had spent a lot of time in her secret garden after her dad died. Her mom was either sleeping via her anxiety medicine or at work leaving Clarke alone with Bella and Robert.  
“He would be glad you’re taking it” she reached across the table, patting her daughter’s hand. 

“we’re going to pack up today and probably head home tomorrow” she told her mother and Marcus. “I’d like to take some things from his closet to” she looked at her mother.

“take whatever you want, honey” Abby smiled at her daughter. The rest of her husband’s stuff would be donated, rather than taken to Marcus’ house. Marcus Kane was a good man, a patient man. He had waited patiently for Abby to make the decision to sell the house she’d shared with Jake Griffin. He deserved to not live with the ghost of a dead man for the rest of his life. “anything else you taking?” she asked.

“probably the ATV’s and the vette” Clarke glanced at her mother, searching for any sign that she disapproved of that. 

“Thank God” Abby murmured “I don’t have to worry about this nutcase taking them out and playing on them” she nodded in Marcus’ direction. 

“Or I’ll talk your mother into taking a trip to Arkadia and we’ll have a little fun” he grinned at Clarke. 

“works for me” Clarke laughed softly. Abby dropped her head into her hands and groaned. 

Bellamy laughed at that “there’s plenty of space in the house” he shrugged. “you guys can have the basement for more privacy, if you want.” He figured after last night, he wouldn’t be spending too much time there anymore, at least he hoped so. 

“Isn’t that where you are living?” Abby looked at him. Her statement made Clarke drop her head to the table and groan. 

“there’s an extra room upstairs” Bellamy shrugged, knowing full well he wouldn’t be sleeping in the spare room. 

Abby’s pager went off. She picked it up “damn” she sighed, looking at Clarke “I’m sorry honey, I’m on call today” she smiled at her daughter. 

“it’s okay” Clarke smiled at her “we need to pack things up anyway.” 

The four of them stood up. Abby walked around the table, enveloping her daughter in a hug “I love you honey, I hope you know that” she sighed. 

“I know, love you too, mom” Clarke replied. To Bellamy’s surprise, Clarke didn’t flinch at her mother’s hug, this was a good thing.

Abby released her daughter and moved to stand in front of Bellamy “it was nice to meet you Bellamy” she held her hand out “take care of my daughter.” Bellamy swore he saw tears in her eyes, though they never materialized. 

“I will” he promised. He watched as Marcus hugged Clarke.

“Take care of yourself kiddo” he kissed her cheek. “and take care of those ATV’s, I’ll bring your mother to Arkadia one day” he promised. “She can interrogate Bellamy some more, while we take them for a spin” he grinned cheekily. They both knew Abby had a million more questions she was dying to ask Bellamy. 

Bellamy grinned, wrapping one arm around Clarke’s waist “I’m an open book” he declared. He took a step toward Marcus, “it was nice to meet you sir” he extended his hand.

Marcus took it “please call me Marcus” he laughed “only the people that work for me call me sir.” 

The couples parted ways after a few minutes. Clarke handed Bellamy the keys to the vette. 

“oh yeah” he grinned broadly, taking the keys from her. He held open the passenger door for her “hang on tight princess” he kissed her softly “I’m going to see what this thing can do. 

“keep her out of the ditch” Clarke warned “or my parents won’t be able to sleep in the basement, because you’ll still be there” she threatened. He laughed at that “does that mean I get to move out of the basement?” he grinned cheekily at her. 

“that depends on how well you behave” she rolled her eyes. 

“I’ll be on my best behavior” he grinned at her. After last night, the only place he wanted to be at night was with Clarke, even if it was just to hold her while she slept.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived in the circle drive of the house, the sports car purring quietly. “that was fun” he smiled, kissing Clarke softly “thanks for letting me drive your baby” he whispered against her lips. 

“you’re welcome” she laughed at his enthusiasm. He had pushed the car to its limits, reminding Clarke of when she and her father would take it out. “play your cards right and I might let you drive it again” she returned cheekily.

“no fair” Murphy burst out of the house, “you wouldn’t let me drive your car” he grumped. 

Bellamy smirked “I’m special” he retorted.

“yeah, special ed” Murphy grunted, shaking his head. 

“nice” Raven joined them, looking between Clarke and Bellamy, giving them a knowing look. “you two were up early.”

“some of us didn’t party all night” Bellamy laughed at her. 

“Oh I’m pretty sure you partied” she disagreed “just not the same way the rest of us did” she cocked her head at them. 

Clarke buried her head in her hands, a pink tinge on her face. Bellamy wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his arms. “we’ll never tell” he shrugged.

“of course, not” Raven smirked even more. They might not use their words, but their actions spoke volumes, not to mention the fact that Bellamy was driving her corvette. 

“So, we need to start packing things up” Clarke lifted her head off his shoulder, looking at her friend, hoping this would be the end of their conversation. 

“I’ll get everyone assembled and you can start doling out chores” Raven nodded, mercifully dropping the conversation. 

Fifteen minutes later, everyone had been herded to the living room with Clarke standing in front of them, doling out different tasks. At first Jasper grumbled about having to help, but was reminded by Clarke and Raven that in return he’d gotten almost a week of fun activities and free food. He was also reminded that the tasks at hand were going to be hard on Clarke emotionally, so he could be a little more sensitive to that. 

“Sorry Clarke” he murmured apologetically. 

“it’s okay” she shrugged “I don’t want to do this either, but it’s what has to be done” she thanked him for his willingness to help her out.

“okay people, you have your assignments, lets get on with it, then we can cool off in the pool and watch a movie later” Bellamy instructed. “you going to be okay?” he looked at Clarke after the others had scrambled to their destinations.

She nodded “I’ll be fine, I need to do this alone. I hope you understand” she looked into his eyes. 

“I do” he smiled softly at her. He had to clean out his mother’s room after she passed away, and had to do that alone. He truly understood her need to do this one thing by herself, besides he wanted to get to Jake’s office to make sure the books in there were treated with respect.

“you’re dying to get in there, aren’t you” Clarke laughed at his look toward her father’s office.   
“it shows, huh?” he grinned.

“just a little” she agreed “but you are a nerd, so..” she laughed at him.

“just remember how this nerd kept you awake most of the night” he pulled her into him, his lips mere inches from hers. 

“looking for a repeat tonight?” she purred. 

“maybe” he shrugged “or maybe tonight, I’ll let you be in control” he touched her lips with his.

“uh-huh none of that” Raven walked into the room “or we’ll never get anything done today” she tugged the back of his shirt, pulling him away.

“why is it always you that comes around when…” Bellamy shook his head. 

“just your luck” Raven snickered, pulling him towards the office.

“if you need me, you know where I am” he called to Clarke, who nodded that she had heard him.

Clarke watched them leave, laughing as they argued about her gumption before heading to her parent’s bedroom. She was going to look in Jake’s closet to make sure there wasn’t anything there she wanted to take home with her. 

Several hours later, Bellamy hadn’t seen Clarke. The others had already finished their tasks and were splashing in the pool. He and Raven sat on the deck chairs, relaxing, or in his case, trying to relax. 

“just go find her” Raven laughed at his anguish.

“I can’t I promised her I would let her do this alone” he protested. 

“you should know by now how stubborn she is” Raven sighed.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to crowd her” he shook his head “when I had to deal with my mom’s stuff, I didn’t want anybody around” he admitted. 

“and were you?” she asked. 

“for the most part” he nodded, “But Murphy turned up eventually” he admitted.

“So, pull a Murphy and go check on her” She shrugged. 

“I think I will” he stood up. “Thanks” he smiled down at her. 

Bellamy wandered quietly into the walk-in closet to find Clarke, sitting on the floor, wrapped in one of her father’s sweatshirts. “sorry” he apologized when she looked startled at his appearance.

“It’s okay,” she patted the floor by her knee. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

“I don’t mean to intrude” he looked at her cautiously “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Are you guys done packing?” she asked.

“yeah, we finished a few couple of hours ago” he mused.

“What time is it?” she looked back at him, surprise evident on her face. She turned her arm, revealing a large watch.

“oh man, I didn’t realize it was that late” she murmured. “I’m surprised you didn’t come up here sooner” she laughed softly.

“It took a lot for me not to” he admitted. 

“I’m proud of you” she kissed his cheek. “sorry, I lost track of time, but look what I found” she grinned, handing him a photo album.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A scrapbook my dad made. I didn’t even know he had it” she murmured.

“May I?” he asked, not wanting to open it without her permission. 

He opened the book, laughing at the first picture he saw. It was one of Jake holding an infant Clarke in his arms, while driving an ATV. “I bet your mom loved that” he snickered. He continued flipping through the pages. Each page recorded a different moment in time. He closed the album “wow” he murmured, handing it to her. 

“yeah” she agreed quietly. She slipped the book into a bag beside her. “I took a few things” she admitted sheepishly. 

He shrugged, looking around “looks like you left a lot” he pointed out. 

She laughed “I restrained myself.” 

“They’re getting ready to start the movie” he looked at her, “do you want to watch or stay here?” he asked. 

“I think I’m done” she patted the bag. 

Bellamy nodded, standing to his feet. He held out his hand. She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet, then reached down and grabbed the bag she had packed. 

“thanks for coming to find me” she smiled, kissing him softly “I completely lost track of time.”

“you’re welcome” he returned her kiss, threading his fingers through hers. Together, they walked out of the closet to rejoin their friends.


	13. Chapter 13

Bellamy knew by Clarke’s breathing that she’d been awake for about an hour, but she’d been pretty quiet. He knew there had to be a lot on her mind, especially knowing her childhood home was going to be sold to strangers. He also knew Clarke was not the kind of person who talked about her problems. At least not until, they bubbled over, spilling over everybody else. Then, she was forced to do so. Also, it was kind of nice, just holding her, knowing she was content enough in each other’s arms that words were not necessary.

Last night after finding her in her father’s closet, he curled up with her on a lounge chair watching a movie with their friends. When the movie was over, they decided to sleep in her room so she could pack up what she wanted in there. She declared that she really didn’t feel like doing that. Instead, she curled into Bellamy’s side, enjoying the warmth and strength of his embrace. She sighed, moving against him, draping an arm around his waist. Her cheek rested on his bare chest, her hair pillowing across his arm. Her cheek rested on his bare chest, her hair pillowing across his arm.

“Good morning, princess” he kissed her softly.

“morning’ she returned quietly. 

“you ok?” Bellamy looked down at her, chewing his lower lip. He knew she wasn’t okay. He could tell by her quietness. She shrugged in answer, burrowing into his side. “want to talk about it?”

She shook her head against his chest “I just want to enjoy this, before things get real” she sighed heavily. 

Bellamy nodded, absently running a hand up and down her back The friction caused by the movement created a warming sensation on her skin below the t-shirt she wore. Before everyone turned in for the night, they had packed and stacked the remaining items in boxes, carrying them to the garage. After breakfast, they would load the cars and head home to Arkadia. 

For them, it would simply be a return to their regularly scheduled life. For Clarke, it would be a new way of life. The house in Polis may not have been her life anymore, but it had played a big role in shaping her life to date. Having it available represented a way for her to continue to connect with her deceased father. When it was sold, she would lose that connection, causing her to feel his loss all over again. 

Bellamy knew what that felt like. It was the way he felt when Octavia had come to him, asking if she and Lincoln could live in their mother’s house after they were married. He could still live there if he wanted, it would still be his home too, but she wanted to raise her children there.  
At first, Bellamy wasn’t sure what he hated most, losing his childhood home, even to her little sister, who equally owned the house; or watching the little girl he worked so hard to raise get married and have babies of her own.   
The one thing he was sure of was that he didn’t want to be a visitor in his own house. So, he agreed, signing the deed over to her and Lincoln the day they’d gotten married. He’d already made plans for his future after she’d come to him with her request. 

He’d literally given his life up to raise his fourteen-year-old sister when their mother died right before his eighteenth birthday. This decision didn’t bother him. He hated losing his mother, but she had been emotionally gone for years before her physical death, so it was really nothing new. 

Ideally, she would’ve lived long enough for Octavia to become an adult and he could have gone to college to become a History and Literature teacher, like he’d always planned. Unfortunately, their mother’s death, caused by her consistent use of substance abuse, had changed his plans. Giving up his life, his future to make sure his little sister had a future of her own, was a decision he would make all over again. 

Octavia’s request, and the fact that she was getting married, had pushed him in the direction of the joining the military. Doing so, allowed him to escape the fact that he had outlived his usefulness to his little sister, while at the same time finding a way to pay for the education he was determined to have.

“Bellamy” Clarke joined her hands together, placing them on his chest. She rested her head on them, looking into his eyes. 

“hmm” he looked back at her, one hand still softly stroking her back.

“why don’t you ever talk about Iraq?” she asked.

He chewed his lower lip. Nothing terribly traumatic had happened to him in Iraq. He’d seen the best and worst of humanity in Iraq, but nothing that kept him awake at night. He’d lost a few friends, good people, too. That hurt a little bit, but he was luckier than some of his friends, who would be forever scarred and have to fight PTSD for the rest of their lives to overcome the things they had experienced. He was lucky enough to have friends who both left him alone and confronted him when he got too caught up in the memories from that time in his life. 

“not much to talk about” he shrugged. “I mean, I saw things that were devastating, but I also saw a lot of good things” he admitted. 

“you know if you ever need to talk, you can talk to me, right?” she held his gaze. “I mean you’re always there for me like that” she pointed out.

“I know princess” he tipped her face up, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. “thank you for that” he spoke quietly. “If I ever feel the need to talk about Iraq, I will come to you first” he promised.

She lapsed into another silence “I’m going to miss this place” she sighed sadly. “not everything that happened here was happy, but I always felt loved, safe, protected” she sighed. 

“you should always feel that way” he ran his thumb over her lips. If he had any say about that, she would. 

“it’s hard you know,” she murmured sadly. “I love our friends, but most of them don’t know what it’s like.’

Bellamy nodded in agreement, that was an accurate statement. Raven and Murphy had a pretty good understanding of the things that haunted Bellamy and Clarke. The others had all experienced some type of parental loss, but none as severe or as far-reaching as Bellamy and Clarke. 

She laid her head back on his chest “I just want to go home” she sighed, heavily.

“well, let’s get up and finish packing your room up, then we can get the others and head out” he played with a strand of her hair.

“okay” she raised herself to a sitting position “I’m ready to get this over with” she murmured quietly. 

Bellamy dropped his hand to her hip, bringing his other one to her other hip and pulled her onto his body “you’re going to be okay” his tone was soft, he gazed into her eyes “and when you aren’t, I will be right here to make it better” he promised. 

She brushed her lips with his “thank you” she smiled at him “for everything.”

“anytime princess” he kissed her softly. He moved in to capture her lips with his, when her door opened. 

“whoops, sorry” Raven murmured, grinning at them. Clarke laughed softly, resting her head on Bellamy’s chest. “I was just coming to tell you, the truck has been loaded and breakfast is on the table, but if you were busy…”

“it’s okay” Bellamy laughed at Clarke’s pink cheeks “we need to get going. We’ll be down in a few minutes.” Raven nodded and backed out of the room. 

“She has terrible timing” Clarke shook her head.

“agreed” Bellamy grinned, “but we do need to get going” he sighed. Clarke nodded in agreement, rolling off his lap.

Together, Bellamy and Clarke, finished packing up her room before joining the others for breakfast. Afterwards, they carried everything downstairs, loading it into the waiting truck before sitting down to eat. 

Currently, he and the others sat in their cars, watching as Clarke was enveloped into a big hug by Bella. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but there were tears in the housekeeper’s eyes. The hug lasted a long time before Bella released Clarke, who was immediately swallowed up by Robert, who had come to see her off. He said something that made her smile. He released her, walking over to Bellla and took her hand. Together the two of them walked into the house, leaving Clarke standing in the circle drive staring at the house. 

Belllamy was kind of surprised Abby and Marcus hadn’t come to see them off, but Clarke’s phone pinged beside him in the passenger seat. He glanced down seeing a message from Abby. He would let her check it when she got in the corvette. He glanced over to see Murphy staring enviously at him, as he once again was driving the classic car that belonged to Clarke. She didn’t think she would be in any shape to focus on driving after leaving her childhood home for the last time, so she asked him to drive her. 

Meanwhile, Murphy had been relegated to driving the truck, hauling the ATV’s and some of the stuff Clarke was taking with her. Raven was riding with him, while Monty, Jasper, Harper and Maya drove Clarke’s jeep home. Octavia and Lincoln brought up the rear in his truck, packed with more of Clarke’s belongings.

“You got a message from your mom” Bellamy got out of the car, taking Clarke her phone. 

“Thanks” she took the phone from him flicking open the message. “she wanted to be here to say goodbye, but she got called into surgery” she closed the phone., continuing to stare blankly at the house.

“you okay?” he wrapped an arm around her waist. 

“yeah” she answered unconvincingly after a long pause. “let’s go home” she turned toward the corvette. Bellamy held the door open for her, before walking around to the driver’s side. He buckled in and pulled out of the circle drive, the other’s following him.

Clarke was quiet most of the ride back to Arkadia. Bellamy wished he could say or do something that would make her feel better, but he knew she would have to process the loss of her childhood home in her own way. He settled for clutching her hand in his, removing it only when necessary. The closer they got to Arkadia, the more she relaxed, though he could see she was still holding her emotions in. 

“We’ll unload the cars” he told her when they pulled into her driveway. He knew what she needed most was to process the week’s events in a safe setting. He figured he would find her in her studio later. She shot him a gracious smile, thanked her friends for all their help and disappeared into the house. 

“Is she okay?” Raven walked up to him. Murphy was backing the truck up into Clarke’s driveway. The ATV’s would be off loaded and stored in the garage opposite the corvette. The other stuff had been carried into the house and deposited into the extra bedroom. 

“She will be” he replied, knowing she was not okay at the moment. “When I had to clean out my mom’s room it took a little time to deal with it. And that was just a room, not a whole house.”

“Do you want me to stay here tonight?” she asked. Murphy had asked her to come to his house tonight.

He shook his head “I’ll be here if she needs anything” he assured her. 

“Okay, if you need us, you know how to get a hold of us” she told him.

Bellamy found Clarke on the couch in the living room, wearing one of her dad’s hoodies. She was flipping through the photo album they’d found in the closet. “you okay?” he sat next to her. 

She nodded “In a way, mom selling the house is a good thing” she murmured. 

Bellamy didn’t believe she meant that for a second, but he did agree that it might finally be the thing she needed to put the past behind her and move on. The same thing happened to him when his following his mom’s death. 

“After my mom died, I had the hardest time looking at her room” he murmured. It took another six months later before I could even open the door” he took her hand into his. “Finally, I just decided that I had to clean it out, for both myself and Octavia” he shrugged. 

“Did it help?” she asked.

“It was the best thing I could’ve done” he replied. “There is something cathartic about cleaning up the past, so you can move into the future.”

“I hope so” she sniffed the hoodie she wore.

“everything will be alright” he promised, dropping a kiss on her forehead. 

“Will you stay with me?” she asked. “I just don’t want to be alone.”  
“Of course,” he pulled her into his arms, “want to watch a movie?” he asked, reaching for the remote.

“sure, I’ll even let you pick it out” she leaned back against him. 

Bellamy flipped through the available movies on her screen, he was tempted to pick out a historical documentary knowing it wouldn’t take her long to fall asleep. Their extracurricular activities aside, she hadn’t slept well at the house in Polis. Too many memories he supposed. Instead, he chose a movie they would both approve of. As the movie started, Clarke snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest. He wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her close as they settled into a comfortable silence. 

As he figured, Clarke did not last long. Before the halfway point of the romantic comedy about a guy and girl who are brought together when a one-night stand ends in an unplanned pregnancy, Clarke’s breathing evened out and she slept quietly in his arms. He smiled down at her, kissing her cheek softly. She murmured something in her sleep, snuggling closer into his body. 

He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over them. Despite the thick sweater she wore, she shivered in his arms. He watched her rather than the movie. If anyone had told him a year ago that they would find themselves in their current relationship, whatever it was, he’d have called them a liar. 

His phone pinged on the table, he reached for it, quieting it before it woke her up. He glanced at the screen. There was a message from Raven on. He pressed the message icon to read her message. 

Raven: Hey, how’s Clarke? Are you guys okay?

Bellamy: She’s asleep, we’re fine. Thanks for checking.

Raven: ok, just wanted to check.

Bellamy was grateful for their friends, who always made sure to take care of each other. Whenever any of them had a problem, all of them were there for the others. Even if it was just a text to make sure everything was alright. The sound of Clarke’s phone pinging interrupted his thoughts. 

“what is the deal?” he grunted, trying to reach her phone without waking her up. He finally reached it and turned it over in her hand. Mom flashed across the screen as it rang again. “Hello” he spoke into the phone quietly, uncertain if he should answer her phone. On the other hand, he didn’t want Abby to keep calling and wake Clarke up. 

“Bellamy?” Abby spoke into the phone. He heard the question in her voice.”

“yeah it Bellamy” he replied “sorry, but Clarke is sleeping” he explained. 

“I won’t keep you long, I just wanted to make sure you guys got home okay” Abby told him.

“yeah, we did” he assured her “but Clarke didn’t sleep very well this last week, so I really don’t want to wake her up” he didn’t want to rush Abby, but he also didn’t want to spend a lot of time talking to her, either.

“I understand” Abby responded “I’ll let you go, it was nice to meet you Bellamy.”

“yeah, you too” Bellamy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. 

Abby laughed in response to his hesitant tone “tell Clarke I love her” she requested before bidding him goodbye. 

Bellamy returned her greeting, then turned both their phones off. He changed the movie to the historical documentary he wanted to watch originally, trying to get his mind off the rom-com they’d started watching. He leaned further into the over-sized sofa, pulling Clarke closer into his chest as he did.


	14. Chapter 14

Clarke was awoken suddenly when Bellamy’s grip tightened on her, pulling her against him in a hard motion. He was mumbling in his sleep, but not coherent enough for her to understand what he was saying. Whatever was going on in his nightmare, it was intense, because he was squeezing so tightly she could hardly breathe. 

“Bellamy” she exhaled raggedly, struggling against his hold. She cupped his face “Bellamy” she repeated louder and more forcefully, breaking into his nightmare. He began to relax his hold om her, both of their breathing returning to normal. “nothing traumatic, huh?” she cocked her head at him.

He woke up slowly, easing her off him and moving to a sitting position. “are you okay?” he felt the red marks on her arms.

“better than you at the moment” she glanced at him, running a hand over his sweaty forehead. 

“sorry” he sighed “mostly nothing traumatic” he sighed raggedly.

“whose Gina?” she asked. Of all the incoherent mumbling, he’d done she’d only understood one word.

He sighed heavily “Gina was…a friend, sort of” he looked down.

“Tell me about her” Clarke requested. At his hesitance, she tipped his head to look at her “please” she her tone softened “just talk to me.” 

Bellamy heaved another heavy sigh. “Gina was a civilian in Iraq” he murmured. He went on to explain how he would see her when they went to the cities in Iraq. “They told us to stay away from the civilians until we knew more, but Gina was…insistent” he laughed softly after a long pause. He continued, telling her how Gina seemed to pop up whenever he would be one of the people making the trip to the city. “It was like she knew, I was going to be there” he murmured. 

“Was she pretty?” Clarke asked. 

“Clarke” he met her gaze, not wanting to get into this with her. To him, it seemed like bad karma to talk about old flames, to your current one. Not, that he and Gina had the kind of connection he and Clarke had, but they were close. 

“you know all of my dirty little secrets” she pressed him “just tell me one of yours.”

He smiled at her comment “that’s true, I suppose” he agreed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“you know it is, so spill” she demanded. 

“yes, she was pretty” he finally answered. “and brave, too brave” his tone became hushed. 

“What happened?” Clarke looked up at him, waiting for him to answer. 

“I knew better, so did she, but it was like we couldn’t help ourselves” he sighed. “Clarke I really don’t..”

“ok, you can skip that part” she touched him softly. She could handle anything he told her, but she understood his hesitance, but something had to happen the way he was reacting. 

He grinned at her “you don’t want the dirty details?” he laughed, trying to break his dark mood. 

“we can make our own dirty details later” she leaned against him, touching his lips with hers. 

“I’m going to hold you to that, princess” he promised, tugging her against him.

“Gina’s father was being recruited by the rebels, they found out about us and…” he closed his eyes, not wanting to say the rest. It was bad enough he lived it over and over again in his dreams. 

“it’s okay” Clarke placed her hand on his chest, she didn’t need him to paint that particular picture for her. 

“I tried to save her” he dropped his head to her chest. “but I…” a single tear rolled down his cheek. “I tried” he swore, burying his against her shoulder. 

Clarke knew there was nothing she could say that would make this better for him, so she just wrapped her arms around him. He held on to her tightly, she could feel his hot tear on her shirt.

“They did unimaginable things to her” he was finally able to say more, “then they killed her and left her for dead, making an example of her for everyone to see” he sighed heavily. “I should’ve just…”

“Stop Bellamy” Clarke forced him to look into her eyes, “you didn’t do this” she reminded him forcefully. “Even if it was because of you, her father had the ability and the obligation to protect her, too.” Clarke knew her father would’ve given his last breath to protect her. 

“I should have…”he sighed raggedly.

“Should’ve done what?” she asked. “What would you have done differently? Not be the man whore we all know you are?” she teased.

“I was not that bad…” he denied, knowing she may have a point. 

“uh-huh” Clarke grunted “let’s see, Echo, Roma, that one blonde you met at Octavia’s engagement party, and Raven…” she cocked her head. 

“Ok first of all, Raven was a one-night thing” he murmured “and only because we were stinking drunk” he declared. “second, how did you know?” he asked.

“Raven and I have no secrets” Clarke shrugged. “does it bother you that I know?”

“Does it bother you to know?” he asked. 

“I’ve had a one-night stand or two” Clarke shook her head. “does that bother you?”

“nope” he pulled her closer to him “I might have an objection to Finn showing his ugly mug around here, but other than that” he kissed her softly.

“you wouldn’t be the only one” Clarke snickered. Finn was a two-timing, no good ex-boyfriend to both Clarke and Raven. He’d gotten caught sleeping with Clarke, while still seeing Raven. Unfortunately for him, he’d gotten busted, resulting in him losing both of them and pissing off everyone else. After a long discussion, Raven and Clarke became fast friends, bonding over the lowlife they’d once trusted.

“And the other women?” she propped he chin on her hand, looking up at him. 

“temporary distractions” he ran his thumb over her lips “until someone more… lasting came around” he murmured. 

Clarke shivered at his tone and the way he gazed into her eyes. “And Gina?” she asked, slightly afraid of his answer. 

He shook his head “Even if she hadn’t been…” he sighed “Gina was never going to be a permanent fixture in my life” he admitted. “What happened with her, was…” he searched his mind for the right word “situational.” He hated using that term, hated minimalizing what little relationship they did have, but she would never have been allowed out of Iraq. 

“And I imagine, not recommended” Clarke smirked.

“Definitely not” he nodded in agreement “I got a lot of crap for the way that situation ended up going” he admitted. 

“Am I a temporary distraction?” Clarke winced, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Bellamy laughed, “you’ve always been a distraction” he teased, which was basically true. He wasn’t always nice to her, but he never failed to notice her when she showed up somewhere. She smacked him in response. “I don’t know what this is” he admitted. What he felt, didn’t feel temporary, but he wasn’t sure if she felt the same way. Rather than pushing her to make a decision, he would wait her out. “hey” he tipped her chin up to look into her eyes “I like being here, like being with you, that’s enough for now.” 

She still looked uncertain, but managed a smile anyway. “I’m sorry, I thought getting home would make me feel better” she sighed.

“you’ll feel better soon” he promised. “It took me a few weeks after cleaning out mom’s room to go back in there” he admitted. She nodded, not saying anything, then laid her head on his chest. He wrapped his hand in her hair, holding her to him. “How about we change the subject?” he suggested. “we have all the time in the world to talk about this.” 

She nodded “I’m sorry, I’m being such a baby about this” she sighed. 

“that’s what used to annoy me the most” he laughed softly “but after seeing your house in Polis, I get it, I truly do. You had a special relationship with your dad, a close connection” he rubbed her back “it’ll get better.”

“I guess so” she sighed wearily.

“why don’t we get some dinner?” he shifted slightly “then maybe take a drive” he suggested. “we could really let the corvette run in the country” he picked the keys up off the coffee table, dangling them in his hands.

“I’m driving this time” she took the keys from him, sitting up.

“Oh, this should be good” he laughed, allowing her to pull him to a sitting position.

The drive seemed to cheer Clarke up. Bellamy loved watching the joy on her face when they found a long stretch of country roads and she opened up the corvette, speeding well over the posted limit. The air was crisp, darkened by the swirl of dust rising from the dirt road. 

“that was fun” she smiled at him when they parked the car back in her driveway. “thanks for suggesting it.”  
The look of pure joy in her eyes was worth the ride. “anytime babe” he leaned over and kissed her. “How about we find some food then wash the dirt road off of us?” he suggested. 

“that sounds amazing” she agreed, letting herself out of the car. Bellamy grinned at her. “what?” she asked, hands on her hips. 

He shook his head “I bet your mom and Bella had a cow when you and your dad took off in the corvette” he laughed.

“don’t forget the ATV’s” she snickered “we had the best time, and they were less than thrilled” she admitted. “He started teaching me to drive the vette as soon as I could reach the pedals.”

“Bet your mom loved that he laughed. 

“yeah, not really” she shook her head “then again he did a lot of things she didn’t approve of.”

They walked from the car to the house, hand in hand “I’m glad you had him” he murmured, kissing her cheek.

Once inside the house, he placed his hands on her hips “so” he tugged her closer “your place or mine?” he asked.

“Technically, they’re both mine” she laughed softly.

“that’s not an answer” he retorted, stealing a kiss.

“Well you did offer mom and Marcus your room” she laughed “so, unless you want to share it with them, I guess my place it is.” 

“Thank God” Bellamy sighed, pulling her even closer, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d have said something else.”

Clarke smiled at him “me too” she agreed, stepping out of his arms. She took his hand and led him to her bedroom.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, got distracted from the story. I will try to update more frequently

Bellamy woke up the next morning with Clarke nestled against his chest, one arm wrapped snugly around her waist. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek. She smiled softly, stirring a little, nestling into him even more. He grinned down at her, watching as she continued to stir, waking up a little at a time. He laughed softly, poking her gently on her side. She murmured and squirmed before sighing dramatically and rolling over onto his chest.

“Morning” she propped herself up on her elbows. 

“Morning” he returned bending to kiss her softly.

Clarke leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He reached down placing his hand on her hips and drew her closer. She sighed contentedly, resting her head on his shoulders when he broke the kiss a few minutes later. Bellamy ran his hand up and down her arm enjoying the few moments a day Clarke allowed him or anyone else to see this side of her. 

He sighed quietly when she pulled back a few minutes later, still straddling him. “Moments over, huh?” he played with a loose strand of her hair.

“Don’t you have to go to the bar to meet Murphy?” she shrugged.

“Yes, I do” he laughed softly, tracing her chin with his thumb, then drawing her closer for a kiss. “But he could wait..” he dropped his lips to her neck, nuzzling it softly.

“He could, but I have to go to the gallery to meet Lincoln” she pulled back, smiling at him, but if you play nice…” she leaned in whispering something in his ear.

“That’s a very un-princess like thing to promise” he teased, running his hand under her shirt and cupping her breast. She gasped when her pinched nipple...hard. 

“Bell” her breath caught in her throat. When his other hand cupped the other breast, she sighed, throwing her head back. 

“Well Maybe Murphy can wait a little bit” she declared pulling the t-shirt she wore over her head. 

“Oh yeah” Bellamy agreed, replacing his fingers on her breast with his lips.

*********

“Late on your first day” Murphy greeted Bellamy when he entered the bar a while later. 

“Sorry, I got a better offer” Bellamy smirked, sitting on a bar stool, telling his buddy about Clarke’s surprising mood.

“As long as you don’t pull that on a Friday night” Murphy grunted, throwing him a towel. They all knew that those moments with Clarke were rare. She’d learned to take care of herself young, so leaning on someone, even her friends, was out of her comfort zone. “Come on, I’ll give you the nickel tour.”

“So, how long are you planning on working?” Murphy asked later as they walked across the wooden floor toward a dark staircase leading down, telling Bellamy where the extra booze was kept. 

Bellamy shrugged “I don’t know” he admitted. “I really need to make some decisions.”

“Are you going back?” Murphy asked.

Bellamy shrugged, he was fairly certain that wasn’t what he wanted. Originally, he joined the service for all the cliche’ reasons. He wanted to see the world and get help paying for college. He also needed to get away and do something new and different with his life. He’d succeeded in doing all of those things, plus getting a few more experiences he didn’t necessarily want.

“What about college?” Murphy prompted. “Didn’t you want to become something boring like a history teacher or something?” he snorted.

Bellamy shook his head “History and literature are NOT boring” he rolled his eyes. “But I have been thinking about that.” He’d heard that there might be an opening the following year. 

“It would take a miracle for me to go back to that place” Murphy grunted. “Did you hear old man Wallace is still there?”

“What’s wrong with old man Wallace?” Bellamy laughed. “He was my favorite teacher.”

“Of course he was” Murphy muttered, handing Bellamy a crate of bottles “he was into the literature and history crap you’re into.” He picked up another crate,indicating for Bellamy to follow him. 

On the way back to the bar, Murphy showed him the kitchen where appetizers and assorted bar foods were offered in the evening.”the cook works from five to midnight” he explained “after that people are mostly here to get snockered anyway” he murmured. 

“There’s rooms upstairs in case you need to crash here sometimes” he nodded toward the stairs. “One of them is mine. The other two are just in case any of our friends get too drunk to drive home” he explained. “But if you get kicked out of the Hotel Griffin, you can claim one.”   
“I'll remember that, you know just in case” Bellamy shook his head. 

“So, things are good between you and Clarke?” Murphy looked at him. 

Bellamy bobbed his head in agreement “so far” he agreed. “You know a year ago, her and I wouldn’t have been able to be in the same house, let alone the same bed” he laughed. 

“The two of you are more alike than either of you care to admit” Murphy grinned at him “Lord knows you’re both stubborn as mules.”

Bellamy laughed, stocking the bar the way Murphy was showing him “am not” he dsagreed.

“Whatever” Murphy grunted “I’m going to get some more booze, you going to be okay for a minute?” 

Bellamy nodded and continued stocking the bar, his mind far away from the current task. Could he get his teaching degree and stay in Arkadia? He wanted to, even if he and Clarke didn’t work out, his family and his friends were here.


End file.
